Tour of Europe's largest timber construction settlement

Published 28 June 2019

The Ecological model settlement in Prinz Eugen Park in Munich, currently the largest contiguous timber housing estate in Europe, was presented.

The Holzbaunetzwerk München organized a guided tour through the ecological model settlement in Prinz Eugen Park in Munich on 24.05.2019. In 2009, on the initiative of the Green Party, the City Council of the City of Munich decided to build an ecological model settlement with 600 apartments in timber construction in the new district on the site of the former Prinz Eugen barracks in Bogenhausen. Based on the urban design by GSP Architects with Rainer Schmidt Landscape Architects, eight developers, the municipal housing associations GEWOFAG and GWG München, building communities and building cooperatives have developed timber construction projects ranging from atrium houses to seven-storey residential buildings. Today, all projects are under construction and some will be completed this year.

The Holzbaunetzwerk München could welcome about 400 guests. The architects of the model settlement presented their projects to interested visitors, builders, urban planners, timber construction companies, architects, investors and citizens in two parallel guided tours on 24.05.2019 in the course of a tour through the quarter. The various timber construction methods, from pure timber construction to hybrid construction methods with reinforced concrete staircases to reinforced concrete skeleton construction with timber facades, were vividly explained using the projects.

Presented were the projects of the building cooperative WOGENO with the Quartierszentrale by Mr. Florian Lünstedt from the office Atelier 5 Architekten Bern, the GEWOFAG by Jakub Pakula and Eduard Fischer, Pakula & Fischer Architekten Stuttgart, the GWG München by Stefan Rapp, Rapp Architekten Ulm, the building community Team3 by Architekturwerkstatt Vallentin München Dorfen, the building community München GbR by Sibylle Hüther, H2R and PlanZ Architekten from Munich, the Baugemeinschaft Gemeinsam Größer II by Markus Borst, agmm Architekten+Stadtplaner Munich with Hable Architekten, the Baugenossenschaft Bürgerbauverein München eG by Markus Lager, Kaden + Lager Architekten Berlin and the Baugemeinschaft Der kleine Prinz by Ulf Rössler, dressler mayerhofer rössler architekten und stadtplaner GmbH Munich.

Afterwards, at 6 p.m., a panel discussion with the city councillors Ms. Heide Rieke (SPD), Mr. Herbert Danner (Die Grünen), Ms. Ulrike Klar, (City Director, Department of Urban Planning of the City of Munich) and Ms. Gerda Peter (Managing Director of GWG Munich) on the future of timber construction in Munich rounded off the event. It was discussed how the path taken can become a model for further new building areas, what lessons can be learned from the Ecological Model Settlement and how a promotion of timber construction can be designed for the future planning areas of the Bayerkaserne, the urban extensions in the east and north and the redevelopment area of Neuperlach. To this end, the Holzbaunetzwerk München wants to launch the Holzbaustadt München 2030 initiative with at least 2030 residential units in timber construction. How it works could be seen in the Prinz Eugenpark on 24.05.2019.

The Holzbaunetzwerk München was founded in 2018 by Andreas Lerge (Wood Real Estate GmbH) Thomas Kapfer Architekt and Ulf Rössler Architekt (dressler mayerhofer rössler architekten und stadtplaner GmbH). The Holzbaunetzwerk wants to work to connect the stakeholders from politics, administration, planning and business, to engage in the further promotion of timber construction in Munich and to initiate the vision of the timber construction city Munich 2030.

Link Holzbaunetzwerk Munich
www.holzbaunetzwerk.com

Keywords: Wood construction, News Blog Bavaria, Settlements

Published 5 October 2020

Wood architecture, social space design, diversity community and inclusion project.

Franklin Village", one of the first large-scale socially and ecologically developed residential projects in Germany, is to be built on the "Franklin" conversion site in Mannheim. The idea is to build a quarter in timber construction that claims to be ecologically and socially sustainable. The project developers will celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony in mid-September with an artistically designed parade of diversity.

It takes about ten trees (three cubic meters of wood) to build a single-family house from wood; the Berlin architects Sauerbruch Hutton need about 2,500 trees to build the exemplary residential quarter of Mannheim. Around 750 tons of CO 2 is bound up in this amount of wood, which, according to one calculation, grows again in Germany in less than six minutes. The architecture, social concept and affordability of the residential quarter for around 200 people in the centre of the Franklin conversion area in Mannheim are to be just as sustainable as the building material. At just under eight euros per square meter of living space, some of the 90 apartments will be available once the entire project is sold to a foundation.

Just a few years ago, "Franklin" was one of the largest residential areas of the US Army in Germany. The city of Mannheim wants to see the topics of "social mix", "inclusion", "open space & urbanity", "urban development & architecture" and "energy & mobility" solved in an exemplary manner in a newly emerging district here. A concept tender was held for a central building area measuring 100 by 68 metres at the heart of the site, which was won by the partnership Innovatio / Profund / Sauerbruch Hutton Architekten. The winners of the tender are taking on the task of implementing "urban development of the future". Profund, based in Gera, Thuringia, is responsible for the construction and Innovatio (Heidelberg/Essen) for the project development. Profund sees itself as a strong real estate specialist, while Innovatio claims to think and realise social space design and sustainable neighbourhood development for the post-industrial age of cities.

As the project developer, Innovatio provides the conceptual framework for the large-scale project, speaking of "inclusively functioning urban quarters that carry the multi-generational idea within them". Keywords here are: Home, identification, diversity, lively neighbourhood, caring community, participation and overall sustainability. You could also say a village in the city. In practice, this means: various communal areas, including a neighbourhood forum with a large multi-functional room and kitchen, a fireplace room and
a large community terrace. Professional neighbourhood management, a differentiated mix of apartments for singles (including senior citizens) and couples as well as for large families, workshops, co-working, a large playroom, a barbecue area on the roof garden, the shady neighbourhood square designed by Urban Gardening - much of it organised by a neighbourhood app. Cluster apartments for people with assistance needs, care services and volunteer concepts are just as much a part of it as car-sharing.
Architecturally, the entire residential quarter was developed exclusively in constructive timber construction. The "Franklin Village" project is the largest timber construction project in Mannheim and one of the largest in the country. It is intended to serve as a model for "timber construction in multi-storey housing".
This will be a lighthouse project, because the material "wood" in construction makes a significant contribution to the energy transition and to minimizing CO2 emissions. Through the use of e-mobility, car sharing and photovoltaics, Franklin Village will also make a lasting contribution to CO2 reduction. The awarding of the project for its model character and its innovative strength in timber construction by the European funding fund EFRE and the state ministry for rural areas, confirms the consistent efforts of the project developers. The inclusion in the exhibition "Urbainable - Positions on the European City for the 21st Century" by the Berlin Academy of Arts, which opened in September 2020, underlines the exemplary nature of the project.

The project's sustainability concept is reflected in the architecture, and not only in the timber construction. An exemplary landscape architecture characterizes the green inner courtyard, which, together with the open neighbourhood square, forms spaces for neighbourly encounters. Not only the timber construction, but also all other building materials are ecological. District heating and photovoltaics provide electricity for self-consumption, everything is managed by a digital energy controlling system. The "future of living" emerges as an interplay of responsibility, awareness and communication, proclaim the makers. "We are happy that we are not only allowed to develop and build something so trend-setting, but that we are also allowed and expected to implement the overall concept of Franklin Village, so that it can become good," says Innovatio, which, at least in the first few years, will also take over the neighborhood management including the founding of the neighborhood association. "Those who proclaim sustainability should act sustainably themselves," say the project developers.

Source: PM franklin-village.com (Mannheim) from 16.09.2020

Keywords:
Wood construction, News Blog Baden-Württemberg

Published 22. June 2020

PV additions: Nuremberg and Hanover are ahead!

Good news for the PV industry: The solar cap will be abolished and solar expansion will be further promoted. The photovoltaic potential in Germany is enormous - especially when it comes to using roof space on new buildings. The new LichtBlick SolarCheck now shows in detail how well the 14 largest German cities are currently exploiting this potential. Enormous differences are revealed: While Nuremberg (49.1%) and Hanover (46.8%) exploit almost half of their potential, Munich and Düsseldorf do not even reach the 10 percent hurdle. The absolute taillight: the Hanseatic city of Hamburg with only 7.2 percent - one more reason for the solar obligation for new buildings planned by the mayor's office.

To calculate the solar potential of the individual cities, the newly built roof areas were put in relation to the newly installed photovoltaic systems in the respective cities in 2018 (most recent figures). The result: the PV potential on roofs is barely exploited in most metropolitan regions in Germany. Yet every new roof without a solar installation is a wasted opportunity for climate protection and a consumer-oriented power supply. The vast majority of people in Germany want solar power from their roofs*.¹

In view of the sobering results of the SolarCheck, Ralph Kampwirth, Head of Corporate Communications at LichtBlick, said: "We must finally bring the energy turnaround to the big cities - and the best way to do that is with solar power from the roof. Discussions about distance regulations for wind power or the use of agricultural land for PV plants show that the responsibility should not only lie with the rural population."

Converted to German households (average consumption 3,000 kWh), the possibilities of the individual cities become apparent: If Munich had fully exploited the potential of the new building roof areas, you could have supplied more than 10,000 households with solar power with the new solar areas built in 2018 alone, Hamburg around 11,500 households, in Berlin it would be 16,200 households." Especially in the megacities, only a small fraction of this is developed, as the SolarCheck shows.

About the research method: The market research company Statista determined the number of newly constructed residential and commercial buildings in 2018 for the 14 German cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants on the basis of data from the State Offices for Statistics and calculated the respective roof areas using scientifically based conversion factors.

Background information on the SolarCheck can be found here:
www.lichtblick.de/.../2020_Hintergrund_Solarcheck2020.pdf (2.83 MB)

*¹ representative survey by YouGov in January 2020, see: lichtblick.de/press

Keywords:
DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Communities, New books and studies, News Blog Bavaria, News Blog Lower Saxony, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Transition Town

Published 21. November 2019

"Alliance for Modern Mobility"

ADFC assures cities of support

21 November 2019. Today, the Federal Ministry of Transport, together with the federal states and local authorities, is establishing an alliance for modern mobility. The aim is to create more space for environmentally friendly means of transport.

This also includes the rapid expansion of cycling in accordance with the climate package of the Federal Government. The bicycle club ADFC is represented with a keynote speech. ADFC Federal Executive Director Burkhard Stork assures mayors of full support in the expected land conflicts.

ADFC National Director Burkhard Stork said in the run-up to the event: „From 2020, for the first time there will be real money from the federal government to finance high-quality cycle path networks, cycle bridges and cycle parking facilities in the municipalities. To make sure that this money gets to the roads quickly, mayors and their administrations must start planning now - and build really good cycle paths from 2021 at the latest. As everywhere else in the world, there will be conflicts when it comes to redistributing road space. This is where it is important to show attitude and leadership, dear mayors. The ADFC, with its more than 450 branches nationwide, will strengthen you in this!"

Climate package: 900 million euros more for cycling
The papers on the climate package explicitly state that "the potential of cycling, which is far from being exhausted" is to be exploited. Together with the federal states and municipalities, "cycling networks" are to be implemented on which "every road user" will feel safe and "every route can be covered by bicycle". Area-wide cycle path networks" are to be created by converting normal roads into "cycle lanes", "converting lanes into protected cycle lanes", "safely redesigning junctions" and building "modern cycle parking facilities". In addition, cycling traffic is to be accelerated by "green waves" wherever possible.

The Federal Government is investing a lot of money in all these projects: 1.45 billion euros will be available for cycling until 2023, which is an additional 900 million euros in this period. The money is available through medium-term financial planning even after a change of government. StorkAlthough the climate package as a whole is disappointing because it continues to set disincentives for excessive car use, it marks a vehement departure for cycling. Not only does the government intend to at least triple cycling. It also admits that the previous, rather cosmetic methods of promoting cycling do not go far enough. From 2020 onwards, there should be really ambitious and high-quality construction for cycling, that's the signal to the cities!"

About the ADFC
The Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad-Club e.V. (ADFC) is with more than 185,000 members the largest representation of interests of cyclists in Germany and worldwide. It advises on all matters relating to bicycles: law, technology and tourism. Politically, the ADFC is committed to the consistent promotion of cycling at regional, national and international level.

Source: ADFC PM from 21.11.2019

Links
www.nakomo.de

Keywords:
Car Free, Bike-/Velo-City, DE-News, Climate protection, Mobility, Transition Town, Environmental policy, Ecology

Published 3 October 2020

DIW-Wärmemonitor: German households heat slightly less - CO2 emissions hardly fall at all

Annual DIW Heat Monitor based on data from energy service provider ista Deutschland GmbH: Heating energy demand in residential buildings declines again for the first time since 2015 - Rising prices, however, cause heating expenditure to increase by 2.4 percent - CO₂emissions have fallen by 21 percent overall since 2010, but by only 2.6 percent when adjusted for temperature - Energy-efficient renovation in residential buildings almost stagnant

Last year - for the first time since 2015 - tenants in Germany used slightly less heating (minus 3.2 per cent). However, at an annual average of 130 kWh per square metre of heated living space, the heating energy requirement in apartment buildings is now only back at the 2010 level. CO₂-emissions have not fallen nearly as much as they would have to in order to achieve the 2030 climate targets: adjusted for temperature, they have only fallen by 2.6 per cent since 2010. These are the key findings of this year's heating monitor calculated by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) on the basis of data from energy service provider ista Deutschland GmbH. They are based on the heating bills of 300,000 multi-party houses in Germany and are adjusted for climate and weather conditions.

"If we only look at the absolute reduction in CO2 emissions, appearances are deceptive" Jan Stede

As energy prices for heating oil and natural gas rose by an average of 5.6 per cent last year, tenants spent 2.4 per cent more on space heating while demand fell. The regional differences in heating energy requirements and prices are very large. In western German households, seven per cent more is heated per square metre than in eastern German households. In 2019, heating energy requirements were highest in the Schleswig-Holstein Southwest and East Frisia regions, and lowest in central Mecklenburg/Rostock and Allgäu. Heating energy cost the most in Saarland and the least in Hamburg.

CO2 emissions fall mainly due to warmer winters

According to the study, there has been a significant overall reduction in CO₂-emissions in the residential building sector have fallen by 20.7 per cent since 2010. However, this is largely due to the warmer winters. Adjusted for temperature and weather conditions, CO₂-emissions have only fallen by 2.6 per cent over the past ten years.

"If we look at the absolute reduction in CO₂-emissions, appearances are deceptive. The reduction of around 21 per cent, which would already make the climate targets unattainable, is hardly due to efforts to increase building efficiency. There is therefore no reason to scale back efforts to reduce emissions," says DIW economist Jan Stede, summarising the results.

"A sober assessment of ten years of building refurbishment shows that energy-efficient refurbishment does not automatically lead to less CO₂. Climate policy measures must provide the right incentives for everyone involved: for landlords to invest and for tenant households to consume sparingly," comments Thomas Zinnöcker, CEO of energy and property service provider ista, on the results of the study. "More focus on results, unbureaucratic implementation and accompanying measures for consumers will make climate protection in buildings more effective."

Cushioning social burdens with a climate premium

Investment in the energy-efficient refurbishment of existing residential buildings is still too low to achieve the climate targets in the building sector. The plan was to increase the refurbishment rate to two per cent per year. Most recently, however, it was only one per cent. While energy-efficient refurbishment still accounted for a third of all measures in the building stock in 2010, in 2019 it was only a quarter.

The authors of the DIW study are therefore calling for stronger incentives for energy-efficient building renovations. "The higher subsidy rate for energy-efficient refurbishment and the planned CO₂-pricing from next year could create additional incentives to invest more in this area again," hopes study author Franziska Schütze. With the CO₂-However, care should be taken to ensure that social effects are cushioned. Tenants, especially those on low incomes, are disproportionately burdened by higher energy prices and have little influence on the building's energy efficiency and energy source. "Reimbursement of the income from the CO₂-pricing in the form of a climate premium would relieve the burden on low and middle incomes and at the same time minimise the incentive effect of higher CO₂-prices," suggests Jan Stede.