Daniel Fuhrhop published the book "Verbietet das Bauen!" by oekom Verlag on 24 August 2015. The blog bears the same title and messages on the topic are published accordingly.
The central thesis in Fuhrhop's book and blog: "Building new is often associated with waste and prestige addiction, always expensive and often uneconomical; it harms the environment and promotes social division in our cities." In the book, alternatives are presented.
Building culture is becoming a recognised goal in the real estate industry: with support from the real estate and housing industry, the Institute for Corporate Governance in the German Real Estate Industry (ICG) and the Federal Foundation for Building Culture initiated and developed the Code for building culturea voluntary commitment for the responsible performance of tasks by companies in the real estate industry.
In its role as project developer, planner, builder, owner, etc., the real estate industry bears particular responsibility for the design of our living spaces. At the same time, building culture values and social acceptance form the basis for economic success. The Codex for Building Culture now supports companies in the real estate industry in assuming social responsibility for the consequences of real estate business activities and for the built results on their own initiative and within the framework of self-regulation. The fact that building culture offers added value for the real estate industry has now entered people's minds - but is not always put into practice. In the survey of the participation process for the code, for example, 98% of the companies surveyed stated that the appreciation of historic properties is seen as relevant or at least relevant to a certain extent - only half of the respondents, however, stringently implement this in practice.
Building culture is always closely linked to process quality, which is why the initiators of the Code for Building Culture were keen to involve the players in the real estate industry in the drafting process. Since a personal discussion of the contents was not possible due to the Corona pandemic, companies in the real estate and housing industry were asked in the summer of 2020 to provide feedback on the draft of the Code for Building Culture by means of an online survey and were thus involved. Scientific support was provided by IREBS at the University of Regensburg.
Prof. Dr. Sven Bienert, Chairman of the Institute for Corporate Governance in the German Real Estate Industry /IREBS Institute at the University of Regensburg, is in favour of this code because: "In times of rising land prices and ever higher building densities, the issue of a "good building culture" is becoming increasingly important. This form of social responsibility will also increasingly concern the real estate industry in the future in the ever more important after-use and conversion - for example of churches that are increasingly coming onto the market."
"Our goal is to make the real estate industry fit for the future," says Karin Barthelmes-Wehr, Managing Director of the ICG. "This includes encouraging the players in the industry to deal with all the requirements of ESG (Environment Social Governance) and to forge new alliances in this regard. For this, the Code for Building Culture we have presented provides a very good basis in the field of planning, development and construction."
Reiner Nagel, Chairman of the Board of the Federal Foundation for Building Culture, emphasises: "The Code for Building Culture now focuses on the responsibility of real estate business activities for the spatial impact of the built environment on us and the resulting consequences, with which companies grow in their building culture competence. As a result, the quality of the built environment benefits from the Code for Building Culture that is now available."
The complete "Code forBuildingCulture" and documentation of the participation process can be found at on our website. It contains the following demands (abbreviated).
Attitude and Values:
- Holistic building culture
- Prudent action in new construction and portfolio development
- Appreciation of already existing building culture
Visions and goals:
- Use stocks
- go easy on resources
- Promoting diversity and mix
Processes and Means:
- life cycle assessment
- quality assurance
- Cooperative collaboration
Supporters of the Codex for Building Culture already include:
- Art Invest
- reason of value
- Landmarken AG
- COPRO Project Development GmbH
- PRIMUS developments GmbH
Source: PM of the Bundesstiftung Baukultur from 17.5.2021
Storms, drought and insect infestations have caused a great deal of damage to Germany's forests over the past three years. The "International Day of Forests" on 21 March is a good time to become aware of the many services provided by the forest.
"Rebuilding Forests - A Pathway to Recreation and Well-Being".is the motto of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for this year's "International Day of Forests". The Food and Agriculture Organization is thus drawing attention to two things:
There is a need for action in reforestation. It is not for nothing that this day was also chosen as the starting point of the UN Decade for the Restoration of Ecosystems (2021-2030). The necessary measures vary from region to region. In Germany, storm damage, drought and beetle infestations have recently led to record tree deaths. In some areas, entire forests are drought-stricken. According to the latest forest condition report, only 20 percent of forest trees still have a healthy crown. But reconstruction is in full swing. The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), is supporting reforestation and sustainable forest management with comprehensive financial aid. 277,000 hectares will be reforested over the next few years. Important projects on the broad range of forest issues are supported by the Support programme for renewable raw materials of the BMEL and with the Forest Climate Fund which the BMEL is supporting together with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).
With eight key messages the FAO shows how human well-being is closely linked to the condition of forests - and not just through climate change.
For the forest provides us with a cornucopia of Ecosystem services:
Living and working space forest: This does not only concern indigenous peoples who live in or with the forest and who are directly affected by the destruction of the forests. Even in an industrialised country like Germany, people live from the forest and its products: More than one million people are employed in the forest and timber economic cluster in this country.
Recreational forest: Germany is a forest country with a forest area share of 32 percent. Germans are traditionally said to have a close relationship with the forest. Statistically, this is expressed in over two billion visits to the forest each year. More than two thirds of Germans regularly visit the forest. On average, each visitor spends at least 20 minutes in the "green lungs". Recreation is the number one reason for visiting the forest.
Climate protector forest: With climate change, we are reminded of the importance of the carbon storage capacity in the biomass of forests. Through photosynthesis, trees remove the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. In this way, forests counteract climate change. Over 4.5 billion tons of CO2 are bound in the forest. Per hectare, this adds up to the equivalent of 114 tonnes of carbon in our domestic forests.
Biodiversity: More than 10,000 animal and plant species live in Germany's forests, making them a hotspot of biological diversity. In our forests there are almost 200 species of trees and shrubs, more than 1,000 herbaceous plant species, almost 700 different mosses and more than 1,000 different species of lichens as well as uncounted species of fungi. And from red deer to the dwarf shrew, 140 different vertebrate species live in Germany's forests.
Many other ecosystem services of the forest, such as oxygen production, air cooling and air filtration, usually receive too little attention. Yet forests, water, soil and atmosphere are inextricably linked. The forest body forms the link between the elements: For example, forests have a considerable influence on the atmospheric as well as the soil water cycle with their evaporation rate. They retain surface water with their rough structure and, together with their gigantic root system, provide formidable protection against erosion. In mountain forests, this network even forms the most important avalanche protection. And on top of that, forests are soil builders - at one centimetre in 100 years, it may seem slow to us. On a geological scale, however, it is rapid.
It's an attitude to life: without a car, but with a bicycle. When the brakes of my car rusted due to too long a standstill, it was clear: I don't need one any more. What is the point of having a car [...]?
On 29 November, the topping-out ceremony took place in Quartier Weißensee with the project participants and future residents.
Further information on what will soon be Germany's largest timber housing estate with 213 residential units: http://sdg21.eu/db/weissensee
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