Just a year after first sod, the building Izgrev 132 is at the finish line. It is about to get the first BREEAM certificate of residential building in Sofia.

Izgrev 132 is a representative of the so-called "green buildings". The special thing about them is that they are built with environmentally friendly materials and of materials in the manufacture of which the integrity and purity of the environment is kept. In addition, the green buildings are heated, ventilated and illuminated in the most environmentally-friendly way.

Izgrev 132 consists of twenty-five apartments, most of which have been already purchased because of the peaceful urban environment that provides the neighborhood and because of the high quality of the materials and construction systems. Regarding the building process, the focus was put on the sustainability, efficiency and spatial comfort, making the building the ideal solution for affordable, high quality, urban, family life. The apartments are spacious, with large bedrooms, walking closets and bathrooms, and the latest in the allocations and the functionality of the housing is that some of them are duplex suites – on two levels, which creates a feeling of the coziness and the comfort of a family house.

The unique about Izgrev 132 is that it is the first residential project in Bulgaria certified under the standard BREEAM.

What is BREEAM? BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is the world's first method to measure the impact of the buildings on the environment (the so-called method of sustainable construction), developed by the British company Bre Trust.

The buildings certified under BREEAM are characterized by much lower operating costs, water and energy savings, and, accordingly, the reduction of the harmful greenhouse emissions. As an advantage, the specialists indicate the higher degree of health and safety for the occupants of the buildings.

Worldwide there are over 540 000 certified buildings in 77 countries. With the building Izgrev 132, Bulgaria enters the prestigious list of the British company with a residential building.

There are nine main criteria for BREEAM certification. The first are:

• Energy (improve the overall energy efficiency of the building, reducing CO2 emissions);
• Management (of the construction process and the operation of an already constructed building);
• Health and tone of the residents (both internal and external factors-light, noise, air quality, thermal comfort, etc.);
• Transport (access to the public transport, maintenance of utilities, provision of transport services, reduction of the use of motor vehicles by promoting alternative methods of transport).

Regarding the input resources and materials, two other criteria are implemented:

• Water (monitoring and management of water consumption and promote the reduction of consumption);
• Materials (encouraging the use of building materials with a low environmental impact, the reuse of some of them, encouraging the use of thermal insulation, reusing an existing facade, etc.).

With regard to the environmental aspects of a building, the last three criteria are created:

• Waste;
• Land and ecology;
• Pollution.