WORLD RECORD: 18 storeys in wood in only three months
Published
Vancouver celebrates topping-out ceremony of the world's tallest wooden residential building at present
26.08.2016 - In Vancouver, Canada, a world record in timber construction has been set - almost casually and without much fuss. The wooden structure of the 18-storey student dormitory of the University of British Columbia was erected in 66 working days and celebrated its topping-out ceremony on 10 August. The steel roof structure and parts of the prefabricated façade, which was insulated with wood fibre and clad with weatherproof HPL panels, are still missing.
According to the current schedule, the project, which cost around € 35 million, could be completed and handed over to the owner in September next year. Then over 400 students will move into over 300 flats. The construction consists of a combination of glulam columns and cross-laminated timber floors - the foundation, ground floor and staircase lift houses were concreted.
On the occasion of the meeting of the EU Ministers for Urban Development and Territorial Cohesion on the "New Leipzig Charter", Daniela Wagner, Spokesperson for Urban Development of the Alliance 90/The Greens in the German Bundestag, explains:
We welcome the "New Leipzig Charter". Without the transformational power of cities and the ideas and energy of their inhabitants, we will not be able to meet the challenges of the climate crisis. Nevertheless, the Charter contains considerable gaps. The guiding principle of the resilient city is missing. The development of robust and resilient cities is important in order to better assess risks and to be able to recognise and prevent dangers in good time. Nor is the model of the healthy city mentioned - despite the heat waves caused by the climate crisis, a never-ending stream of air pollutants from fossil combustion engines and the current challenge of a global pandemic.
In addition, there is a huge gap between the claims of the "New Leipzig Charter" and the actions of the Federal Government, which after all helped to develop the Charter. It would be nice if the content of the Charter were reflected to some extent in the policies of the Federal Government. For example, it is hard to understand why the paper talks about reducing land consumption, but the Federal Government does the exact opposite and reintroduces the land-grabbing paragraph 13b in the Building Code, which is highly questionable in terms of environmental and housing policy, or pushes through the construction of age-old plans from the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan.
If the federal government is serious about affordable and well-designed housing being fundamental to urban development policy, then it should finally provide more affordable housing, double federal funding for social housing construction and introduce the New Housing Community Benefit. The energy turnaround in existing buildings should finally be advanced. With the "Fair Heat" action plan, we have presented a package of measures that financially incentivises investments in energy modernisation of housing with energy savings and the switch to renewable heat and significantly lowers the hurdles for the investments.
The statement in the Charter that urban transport and mobility systems should be efficient, climate-neutral and multimodal is also correct. Unfortunately, there is a considerable lack of implementation of the transport turnaround. What the federal government has done so far in terms of strengthening bus and rail pales in comparison to the billions in subsidies for the automotive industry. At the same time, the federal government is putting the brakes on the expansion of electromobility and has parked the topic of charging stations on the hard shoulder.
Source: PM of BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN in the German Bundestag from 30.11.2020
22 municipalities across Germany will develop and implement a climate protection master plan with funding from the Federal Environment Ministry. The so-called master plan municipalities unite the goal of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 95 percent by 2050 and halving their final energy consumption compared to 1990. In Schleswig-Holstein, the region of Flensburg and the state capital Kiel are among the funded regions.
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks: "The pioneer municipalities are strong partners for us in the fight against climate change. They prove that long-term development towards 100 percent climate protection is feasible. To achieve this, the municipalities must involve their citizens and local businesses and pull together with them."
Commenting on the projects in Schleswig-Holstein, Hendricks said: "For us, the Flensburg region is the prototype for the transformation of a rural region. Its proximity to the city of Flensburg, which is also a Masterplan municipality, can show important examples of ambitious climate protection in an urban-rural relationship.
The Masterplan municipality of Kiel will play an important role in municipal climate protection, as it can lead the way ambitiously, especially in climate protection in ferry and cruise ship traffic. Its activities and goals so far suggest that we can expect a lot from Kiel."
The 22 new master plan municipalities will be supported and intensively monitored over a period of four years with funding totalling 12 million euros as part of the National Climate Protection Initiative of the Federal Environment Ministry. With their ambitious climate protection goals, they have a great impact as beacons of municipal climate protection.
In their first year of the project, the Masterplan municipalities will create a Masterplan that will show them the way to decarbonise the local economy and society by 2050 and set out measures for short-, medium- and long-term implementation. With their funding application, the Masterplan municipalities have submitted a resolution from their highest body that affirms the Masterplan goals.
At the heart of the project are the master plan managers, who ensure that structures are created both within and outside the administration during the project period that establish climate protection in the municipality.
The 22 new Masterplan municipalities are: Region Flensburg/Amt Eggebek, State Capital Kiel, University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald, Administrative Districts Hameln-Pyrmont with Schaumburg and Holzminden, Flecken Steyerberg, City of Emden, Administrative District Lüchow-Dannenberg, Zweckverband Großraum Braunschweig, State Capital Potsdam, State Capital Magdeburg, District of Lippe, City of Rietberg, City of Beckum, City of Münster, District of Gießen, Municipality of Sprendlingen-Gensingen, State Capital Mainz, District of Cochem-Zell, City of Kaiserslautern, Municipality of Birkenfeld, State Capital Stuttgart and District of Oberallgäu.
Maic Verbücheln and Susanne Dähner (eds.), German Institute of Urban Affairs
Special publication "Climate protection in urban and regional planning. Renewable energies and energy efficiency in municipal planning practice", Berlin, February 2016 (pdf, 9 MB)
Maic Verbücheln, Manuela Reinhardt, Thomas Preuß, Prof Dr Arno Bunzel (German Institute of Urban Affairs)
Renewable energies and energy efficiency in municipal planning practice, SPECIAL training materials, Berlin, February 2016 (pdf 3.7 MB)
Photo: Peter und der Wolf Communications GmbH / LHM
At a press conference today, Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter, together with City Planning Councillor Professor Dr. (l) Elisabeth Merk, presented an overall plan for Munich's mobility in the coming decades.
Where could new underground and tram lines be built, where could the new cycling expressways run, and where can people switch from their cars to environmentally conscious means of transport? The mobility of tomorrow will be characterised by an optimal interlocking of different forms of mobility - first and foremost an optimised and broadly developed public transport system, a wide network of cycle paths, new offers for commuters in so-called HOV lanes ("High-occupancy vehicle lanes"), dedicated bus lanes and clever mobility concepts in settlement development with innovative means of transport.
Not only population and economic growth pose major challenges for transport infrastructure and settlement development, but at the same time the urban goals for traffic safety ("Vision Zero"), the political and legal requirements for environmental and climate protection (air pollution control, CO2 neutrality) and technological progress (digitalisation and networking) must always be taken into account.
Mayor Dieter Reiter: "Only with a well-developed and, above all, cleverly networked mobility will we be able to master the great challenges. The overall concept published today contains many good ideas for the further expansion of our transport infrastructure. The backbone is, of course, local public transport, which we not only want to greatly expand, but also create further tangential and ring connections in its network. I see this look into the future as a good basis and impulse for further debates. However, the mobility of the future can only be successfully developed in cooperation with the Munich region. In recent years, the city council has passed several groundbreaking resolutions for well-connected, environmentally friendly and space-saving mobility. We want to continue this".
City Planning Councillor Professor Dr. (l) Elisabeth Merk. "In the overall concept, we want to bundle all important measures for sustainable transport planning. It is important to us that we tackle it together. In dialogue with citizens and stakeholders from the region".
Expansion of local public transport (ÖPNV)
Public transport is the backbone of sustainable mobility. To encourage even more people to switch from their cars to public transport, the service will be significantly improved - through the new main station, the second main line, new bus lanes, underground and tram lines, increased frequency, more reliability and comfort. The existing network will be decentralised by tangents and, where sensible, supplemented by innovative means of transport such as cable cars or on-demand services. The result is less congestion and freed-up space that can be used, for example, for lanes for express buses, cycle paths or as amenity spaces.
Improving the cycling infrastructure
Cycling in the city is becoming much safer and more attractive. The continuous and safe "Altstadt-Radlring" (Old Town Cycle Ring) demanded by the citizens' petition is being implemented step by step; every quarter, the city council also decides on a bundle of further measures to make the road network significantly more cycle-friendly. This means that the demands of the second citizens' petition "Radentscheid" will be largely realised by 2025. Munich's first cycle path from the Stachus in the direction of Garching and Unterschleißheim as well as five further star-shaped routes will connect the city centre with the surrounding area; a cycle ring connects several city districts.
New offers for the city-countryside commuter traffic
Work-related commuting between the city and the region is made easier: modern Park & Ride facilities are being built on the motorways and main access roads at the gates of the city. From there, express buses continue on to the city centre on separate lanes without traffic jams and loss of time. The occupancy rate of commuting cars is increased by allowing the bus lanes to be shared by vehicles with several occupants. These "high-occupancy vehicle lanes" are already successfully helping to reduce car traffic abroad. For the "first" and "last mile" to and from public transport stops, more sharing and on-demand services will be provided, for example call buses.
Car-reduced city centre
New parking regulations, fewer parking spaces, traffic-calmed zones and sustainable logistics concepts will reduce car traffic in the old town and city centre. The space thus freed up will benefit cycling, walking and public transport as well as the quality of stay and the green and open spaces that are so important for the urban climate. Necessary, unavoidable car journeys into the city centre will still be possible. However, it is primarily emission-free, innovative means of transport that will shape mobility here. Efficient city logistics concepts make delivery and loading traffic compatible.
Mobility concepts
When planning new neighbourhoods and urban renewal projects, mobility concepts are considered from the very beginning. The focus is on a lively, balanced structure of uses in which as many everyday needs as possible can be found in the immediate residential environment. Short distances, good internal and external access to the neighbourhood by public transport, car and bike sharing services enable people to live without their own cars and increase the quality of life.
Innovative means of transport
Mobility is strongly influenced by digitalisation and innovations. The City of Munich takes these up, plans ahead and is open to trends. Automated and connected driving is currently being researched together with partners from business, science and research; a cable car over the Frankfurter Ring is being studied for the north of Munich, which has heavy traffic. With all new technologies, the focus is on user needs.
On Wednesday, 12 February, the City Council will deal with other important resolutions on mobility in Munich in the Committee for Urban Planning and Building Regulations in addition to the draft resolution "Mobility Plan for Munich".
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