In Brütten near Zurich in Switzerland, an apartment building with nine rental flats that is not connected to the energy grid has now been inaugurated.
"The rental costs are no higher than elsewhere. The most important energy source is photovoltaic modules. Schmid had an electrolyser installed in the cellar as a long-term storage unit for the solar power. The device uses solar electricity to produce hydrogen from water, which is stored in tanks. From the hydrogen, a fuel cell generates electricity and heat when the sun is not shining."
The cars for the tenants are also largely supplied by the system.
Electricity from the sun and wind is too expensive? Wrong: according to new studies, green electricity is cheaper than fossil energy worldwide and in Germany.
Since 2009, prices for wind power have fallen by a third, for solar power by 80 per cent and in the next decade, solar power is set to become a further 60 per cent cheaper. 170 countries now have targets for renewables, and large financial investors are looking for these secure plants. Electricity storage systems are also expected to be 65 per cent cheaper by 2020 and their capacity is set to multiply from 1 to 250 gigawatts. And the rival authority IEA, the International Energy Agency of the OECD, which for years tried to talk down renewables, now sees similarly rapid growth and falling prices.
Isabella Marboe (ed.) Bauen für die Gemeinschaft in Wien Neue gemeinschaftliche Formen des Zusammenlebens. Edition Detail 2021, 144 pages, de/eng, Euro 39.90
Review by Roman Schaurhofer, Vienna
Overview
The book "Building for the Community in Vienna" was published in 2021 by Isabella Marboe at Verlag Detail. All texts were printed in German and English in the book. In addition to an interview conducted by Marboe with Ulrike Schartner and Alexander Hagner, Robert Temel has his say in an expert article.
All in all, the book deals with 20 building projects in the Austrian capital Vienna and offers insight into the respective planning as well as the organisational and structural realisation of those very communities.
Content
At the beginning, Isabella Marboe looks back at historically relevant and significant events surrounding Viennese housing, community in everyday life and housing, and participatory building. The editor then highlights the importance and significance of the architect Ottokar Uhl and his work. Especially the projects "Living with Children" and "B.R.O.T." are mentioned and described as positive examples. In addition, Marboe goes into more detail about the historical developments surrounding the "Sargfabrik" and "MISS Sargfabrik" projects. Isabella Marboe is committed to a communal and socially solidary as well as responsible coexistence.
In Robert Temel's contribution, after a historical classification of Austrian pioneer and follow-up projects, there is also a brief description of organisational and ownership models. This is followed by an outline of the emergence of building communities and their possibilities for acquiring a building plot, as well as a comparison of several models implemented in Vienna.
In an interview, Ulrike Schartner and Alexander Hagner from gaupenraub+/- explained the many challenges that arise when creating quality housing for homeless people and at the same time show approaches to dealing with problems of this kind.
After the essays and the interview, there is a more detailed examination of the individual projects. A brief description, accompanied by key figures and background information, provides insights into the planning and implementation of the respective community ideas. In addition, illustrations and detailed plans (often in the form of floor plans) give the reader a better understanding of the structure and function of the respective project. In addition to individual buildings, row houses, multi-storey residential buildings and neighbourhood houses that stand out from their surroundings were also selected.
Criticism
The social and socially solidary approach of the project examples stands out in a clearly positive way. Each of the projects features people-oriented planning and high-quality implementation geared to the wishes of the residents, without losing sight of the demand for high-quality architecture. Although the communal and participatory character is clearly in the foreground as a unifying element, the individual projects cannot be denied their uniqueness and individuality in approach.
The detailed information, underpinned by pictorial representations, enables the reader to place the projects conceptually and contextually in their respective environment. With the overview and detailed descriptions of the sample projects, the editor Isabella Marboe offers a solid basis with carefully researched project examples for professional discourse and a more intensive examination of the topic of building communities.
February 2021, Hardcover, 23 x 30 cm, German / English
State aid for housing construction drives up prices, but does not bring more housing. This is how an assessment by the DIW (German Institute for Economic Research), Berlin, can be interpreted.
Yesterday, the Agency for Renewable Energies awarded the Rhine-Hunsrück District as Energy Municipality of the Decade / Environment and Energy Minister Ulrike Höfken congratulates warmly on this award.
Yesterday, the Agency for Renewable Energies awarded the Rhine-Hunsrück district in Kassel as "Energy Municipality of the Decade". "Climate change is clearly noticeable in Rhineland-Palatinate, as currently shown by the dramatic damage to forests. With its commitment to the energy turnaround, the Rhine-Hunsrück district is making a significant contribution to climate protection and the preservation of our animal and plant species on a regional level. The fact that the Rhine-Hunsrück district has been chosen as the energy community of the decade among all the exciting and exemplary energy transition projects throughout Germany in the last ten years is an outstanding recognition. I would like to warmly congratulate all those who have contributed to this: The award is a great honour and motivation for all climate protection campaigners in the Rhine-Hunsrück district," said Environment and Energy Minister Ulrike Höfken today in Mainz.
The award is a nationwide recognition of what the district has successfully achieved in recent years. "The Rhine-Hunsrück district is one of the first zero-emissions districts in the inland, 300 percent electricity from renewable energies is generated here in relation to its own consumption, 16 local heating networks are in operation and save around 2.7 million liters of heating oil annually. These figures are also impressive in a nationwide comparison and are the result of an early, energetic and planned energy turnaround on site," explained the Minister. And this also has an impact on regional and economic development: A total of around 44 million euros per year in municipal added value is generated in the Rhine-Hunsrück district through renewable energies, Höfken cited. With these financial means of energy production from wind, sun and biomass, further meaningful projects for the continuation of the energy turnaround as well as for the development of rural areas will be implemented. Höfken concluded: "The Rhine-Hunsrück district impressively shows how energy transition and climate protection work on a municipal level."
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