To mark the 10th anniversary in 2008, a 35-minute film was made about the GWL-Terrein showcase project in Amsterdam-Westerpark (language: Dutch with English subtitles):
More films about the car-free neighbourhood:
https://gwl-terrein.nl/bezoekers/gwl-10-jaar-de-geboorte-van-een-eco-wijk/milieuvriendelijk-wonen-midden-in-amsterdam-bouwfilm-uit-1997/
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
A subsidy programme for small electricity storage units with grants of up to 3000 euros was launched today in Brandenburg. The State Ministry of Economics and Energy supports private homeowners in purchasing a battery storage unit if they generate the electricity themselves with a photovoltaic system on their own roof.
The small-scale storage programme is initially limited to 500 subsidies. It follows the previous year's 1,000-storage programme, which, according to Energy Minister Jörg Steinbach, had met with great demand. Within only six weeks, 1,026 applications had been submitted. Funding of over 5.3 million euros was approved.
The funding programme has already been exhausted.
www.ilb.de/kleinspeicher
Sign up for the ILB Newsletterso as not to miss the start of the next round of applications.
30.10.2019 | Source: Brandenburg Ministry of Agriculture and Energy
Keywords:
DE-News, Energy storage, Renewable, Funding, Climate protection, News Blog Brandenburg, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Electricity storage
The Wealth Redistribution Alliance is focussing on social justice in the 2017 election year and is launching the campaign "Redistribute wealth - a fair country for all!" just in time for the Bundestag election campaign. In total 30 organisations, from trade unions, welfare and youth associations to migrant and environmental organisationshave joined forces in the alliance, which made its first public appearance today at the Federal Press Conference in Berlin. The strategic aim is to place tax and redistribution policy at the centre of the election campaign alongside the issue of social justice. Among other things, they are calling for greater taxation of financially strong companies as well as large assets, incomes and inheritances.
"The social divide has reached an intolerable level," said Frank Bsirske, Chairman of the United Services Union (ver.di). Social inequality, insecurity and injustice have been increasing worldwide and in Germany for decades. The key to a fairer and better policy for all is a turnaround in tax policy. Millionaires and billionaires should therefore be asked to contribute more to the financing of public tasks, said Bsirske.
The enormous private wealth contrasts with massive public poverty, which is clearly visible in more and more municipalities. "Germany is running on empty. In many places, spending on culture, social affairs and education is being cut beyond the pain threshold due to financial hardship. A solidary tax and financial policy is ultimately the acid test and the test of credibility for anyone who runs on the promise of a good welfare state and more social justice," says Ulrich Schneider, Managing Director of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband.
"The increasing social divide in society is also evident on the housing markets. We need permanently priced social housing, at least an additional 80,000 a year, as well as a needs-based housing allowance and the assumption of actually appropriate housing costs in the standard rates of Hartz IV. This is another reason why financially strong corporations, large fortunes, billionaires and millionaires must contribute more than before to the costs of the common good. Redistributing wealth means creating tax justice, closing tax loopholes and drying up tax havens," says Ulrich Ropertz, Managing Director of the German Tenants' Association.
The unequal distribution of wealth goes hand in hand with unequal power relations worldwide and is therefore also a serious threat to social cohesion in Germany, warns the alliance. Barbara Eschen, spokesperson for the National Poverty Conference and Director of Diakonie Berlin-Brandenburg, emphasises: "Germany is a rich country. It is all the more scandalous that so many people in Germany are left behind because they are poor. The wealth in Germany must be redistributed. And there must finally be an end to playing different groups of people in need off against each other."
The action alliance also sees its demands strengthened by the current poverty and wealth report by the German government, in which the government itself warns of an excessive division in society and admits that employees often feel that their efforts are not sufficiently respected, that the long-term unemployed are not benefiting proportionately from the German job boom and that the service sector is lagging behind in terms of wage increases. "We share this diagnosis. Now we need to turn words into action. If we want to combat poverty, we must strengthen collective bargaining agreements and stabilise and gradually raise the statutory pension," said ver.di Chairman Frank Bsirske.
Website: www.reichtum-umverteilen.de
Source PM:
www.reichtum-umverteilen.de/...buendnis-umverteilen-stellt-forderungen-zur-bundestagswahl-vor
Keywords:
Stakeholders
Berlin, 08 August 2017 - The expansion of renewable energies is an important concern for an overwhelming majority of Germans. This is shown by a recent representative survey conducted by Kantar Emnid on behalf of the German Renewable Energy Agency (AEE). 95 percent of those surveyed rated the expansion of renewables as important to extremely important..
"The result of the survey proves how broad the social consensus is that supports the energy transition in Germany," says Nils Boenigk, Deputy Managing Director of AEE. "95 percent is a clear vote for the upcoming federal government to resolutely push ahead with the expansion of renewable energies," says Boenigk with a view to the federal elections in September.
The citizens are very willing to accept renewable energy plants in their neighbourhood. 65 percent of the survey participants are generally positive about plants within a radius of five kilometres from their homes. The approval rate is significantly higher when people already have experience with such plants. While, for example, 72 percent of all respondents approve of solar parks in the vicinity of their homes, the approval rating rises to 94 percent if there is actually a plant in the vicinity of the survey participants. The approval ratings for coal-fired power plants, on the other hand, are far off in the single-digit percentage range.
The most important advantages of renewable energies for people in Germany are future security and climate protection. Thus, 75 percent of the participants agree with the statement that renewables contribute to a secure future for our children and grandchildren. 72 percent affirm the statement that energy from the sun, wind, biomass & co. protects the climate. "The people in Germany know that the expansion must continue so that we can fulfil our obligations to climate protection and to future generations," emphasises Boenigk.
In order to finance the expansion of renewables, the majority of respondents are willing to make their contribution via the EEG levy through the electricity price. Thus, 48 percent rated the current monthly contribution of 20 euros per 3-person household (3,500 kilowatt hours annual consumption) as appropriate, while 8 percent are even willing to pay more for the expansion of renewables. Only 37 percent consider the contribution to be too high.
You can find further infographics on the survey in the AEE Media Library.
Keywords:
100% EEs, DE-News, Renewable, Climate protection, Tenant electricity, PV, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Solar thermal, Environmental policy, Ecology
