Building & Living: a platform for networking, synthesis, and transfer

Background and goals

There is a lack of affordable housing in Germany – studies speak of a shortage of up to 1.2 million homes in the old federal states only¹. 9.6 million people – that’s more than one in ten – live in too little space². In addition, the building sector accounts 37 per cent of energy and process-related CO2 emissions and over 34 per cent of energy demand globally³. Therefore, transforming the building sector is crucial in promoting a resource-conserving economy and combating global warming. Adapting the built environment to changing conditions is crucial. This includes designing climate-resilient cities, accommodating changing lifestyles, and moving towards smart cities. Additionally, affordable, high-quality housing is also a central goal of the new federal government.

The aim of the Building & Living Platform is to develop solution options for more affordable living space. Striking a balance between affordability, sustainability, and quality (essential living comfort) plays a central role. The project brings together relevant players from across the sector’s ecosystem (networking), combining social science knowledge with natural and technical science knowledge (synthesis), providing knowledge for action, and stimulating concrete economic activity (transfer). Transferability and scalability are key criteria in the development of the solutions. The focus is on existing building structures in urban areas. Both the building level and targeted, integrated development at a neighbourhood level are taken into account.
Experts exchange ideas in different various working groups. Other key components of the project are innovative dialogue formats: In two citizens’ councils participants discuss their perspectives and needs on project-related questions on behalf of the wider public. The implementation of two group delphis processes aims to gather additional expertise from further specialists. They are tasked with discussing and evaluating the obstacles identified by the working groups, as well as the initial solution options developed, and with contributing additional approaches and arguments.
Furthermore, an interactive map of Germany presents real-world laboratories and selected innovative practical examples (best practices), thereby highlighting the potential for creating affordable housing.

Working group 1: Building materials, construction and energy (WG 1)

The working group ‘Building Materials, Construction and Energy’ (WG 1) focuses on technical innovations with regard to individual buildings. It looks at how costs could potentially be reduced and investment in existing structures strengthened – for example, by modifying planning law and integrating the conversion of existing buildings into the legal framework. There is a particular focus on improving knowledge transfer in the area of existing buildings, reviewing existing standards in housing construction and simplifying building regulations – with the overarching goal of promoting more affordable housing.

Members of Working group 1

Lead of working group:
Dr.-Ing. Daniela Kiefer
Structural Engineer for Bridges, Building Construction and Construction Products, SMP Ingenieure Im Bauwesen GmbH
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Winter
Ordinarius of the Chair of Timber Structures and Building Construction, TU Munich

Members:
Dominik Campanella
Managing Director, Concular GmbH
Sarah Dungs
Chairwoman of the Association for Building in Existing Contexts e.V.; Managing Director, Greyfield Group; Board of Greyfield foundation
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Graf
Head of Research at the Department of Structures and Materials, Faculty of Architecture,
Rhineland-Palatinate University of Technology Kaiserslautern-Landau
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Annette Hafner
Head of the Chair of Resource Efficient Building, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Ruhr University Bochum
Michael Halstenberg
Lawyer, Franßen & Nusser Rechtsanwälte PartGmbB
Josef Huber
Managing Partner, Huber & Sohn GmbH & Co. KG
Tobias Karlhuber
Architect, Robert Meyer und Tobias Karlhuber Architekten
Frank-Thomas Kronsbein
Product Manager Residential Buildings, GOLDBECK Technologies GmbH
Silke Küstner
Senior Project Manager Circular Economy, WWF Germany
Pia Lütkenhaus
Management Assistant, B. Lütkenhaus GmbH
Dr. Jan Wenker
Group Director Sustainability & Innovation, Brüninghoff GmbH & Co. KG
Petra Wurmer-Weiß
Consultant, Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Advice Center (BEN) of the Bavarian Chamber of Architects

Working group 2: Urban and neighbourhood development (WG 2)

The working group “Urban and neighbourhood development” (WG 2) focuses on issues relating to the requirements and potential of integrated neighbourhood development. The overall aim is to discuss innovations and instruments at neighborhood level that can contribute to greater affordability, to identify obstacles to implementation and to develop possible approaches to overcoming them. Particular attention is paid to instruments that strengthen partnership-based co-development, agility and self-development of neighbourhoods and promote an integrated solution approach of urban neighbourhood development.

Members of Working group 2

Lead of working group:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Agnes Förster
Head of the Chair of Planning Theory and Urban Development, RWTH Aachen
Klaus Illigmann
Head of the Department I/2 Strategic Development Planning, City of Munich

Members:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andrea Benze
Professor of Urban Design and Theory of the city at the Department of Architecture, Munich University of Applied Sciences
Anja Bierwirth
Head of the Research unit Urban Transitions, Department Energy, Transport and Climate Policy, Wuppertal Institute (Wuppertal Institut für Klima, Umwelt, Energie gGmbH)
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Verena Brehm
Professor at the Department of Design in an Urban Context, University of Kassel
Jörn Ehmke
Head of the Urban and Neighbourhood Development Department, GEWOBA Aktiengesellschaft Wohnen und Bauen
Prof. Dr. Cordula Kropp
Chair of Sociology of Technology, Risk and Environment, Institute for Social Sciences; Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Risk and Innovation Research at the University of Stuttgart (ZIRIUS)
Prof. Dr. Simone Linke
Professor of Urban Planning and Landscape, Landscape Architecture Department, Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences
Prof. Dr. Philipp Misselwitz
Executive Director, Bauhaus Erde gGmbH; Professor at the Department International Urbanism and Design, TU Berlin
Sebastian Pfeiffer
Managing Director, LESG Gesellschaft der Stadt Leipzig zur Erschließung, Entwicklung und Sanierung von Baugebieten mbH
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jan Polívka
Head of the Department of Urban Planning and Development at the Institute of Urban and Regional Planning, TU Berlin
Prof. Dr. Drs. h.c. Ortwin Renn
Former Scientific Director, Research Institute for Sustainability, Helmholtz Center Potsdam (RIFS)
Robert Riechel
Project Manager at the Research Department Infrastructure, Economy and Finance, German Institute of Urban Affairs gGmbH (Difu)
Monika Schmid-Balzert
Managing Director and in-house lawyer, German Tenants’ Association (Deutscher Mieterbund (DMB)), Regional Association of Bavaria e.V.
Jörn Stobbe
Former CEO and Spokesman of the Management Board, Becken Holding GmbH

Working group 3: Transformation and implementation strategies (WG 3)

The task of working group “Transformation and implementation strategies” (WG 3) is to work closely with the other two working groups to provide impulses for the successful transfer of existing and future solutions into practice. WG 3 therefore reviews the scalability, transferability and economic potential of the solution options developed by WG 1 and WG 2.

Members of Working group 3

Lead of working group:
Dr.-Ing. Manuel Götzendörfer
Managing Director, BEFIVE, UnternehmerTUM Projekt GmbH
Kerstin Faber
Transformation Manager, Bundesstiftung Bauakademie

Members of working group:
Kathrin Fändrich
Expert for Sustainable Transformation in administration, Bavarian Ministerial Administration
Dr. Svenja Haferkamp
Head of Strategy, Sustainability and Innovation, GEBAG Duisburger Baugesellschaft mbH
Nicola Halder-Hass
Managing Partner, BRICKS&BEYOND GmbH
Prof. Taco Holthuizen
Professor of Architecture and Building Technology, Berliner Hochschule für Technik
Florian Köhl
Owner, fatkoehl architekten
Helga Kühnhenrich
Head of the Division Construction Research and Innovation, Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development
Jens Lütjen
Managing Partner, Robert C. Spies Gewerbe und Investment GmbH & Co. KG
Joachim Siepmann
Member of the Executive Board, B&O Bau GmbH

Stakeholder Advisory Board

The advisory board accompanies and comments on the project work and acts as a sounding board. At the start of the project, the members were also involved in narrowing down the topics to be addressed and selecting the members of the working groups.

Members of the Stakeholder Advisory Board

Leadership:
Prof. Dr. Drs. h. c. Ortwin Renn
Research Institute for Sustainability | at GFZ

Members:
Prof. Ph.D. Dr. phil. Dr. techn. Konrad Bergmeister
Head of the Institute of Structural Engineering, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr.-Ing. E.h. Manfred Curbach
Director of the Institute of Concrete Structures, Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden)
Prof. Lydia Haack
President of the Bavarian Chamber of Architects
Prof. Dr. Meike Jipp
Divisional Board Member for Energy and Transport at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Yakup Kaya
Head of energy innovation Vonovia SE
Prof. Dr. Carsten Kühl
Head of the German Institute of Urban Affairs gGmbH
Dr. Christine Lemaitre
Executive Officer at DGNB German Sustainable Building Council
Prof. Dr. Martina Löw
Head of the Department of Sociology of Planning and Sociology of Architecture, Berlin University of Technology
Hilmar von Lojewski
Councillor for Urban Development, Association of German Cities
Prof. Dr. (Univ. Florenz) Elisabeth Merk
City of Munich’s Planning Director
Barbara Metz
Executive Director of Environmental Action Germany
Dr. Dominik Nied
Director ESG Program, Heidelberg Materials AG
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Christa Reicher
Chair of Urban Design and Institute for Urban Design and European Urbanism, RWTH Aachen University
Dr.-Ing. Norbert Schiedeck
CEO, Vaillant Group
Prof. Dr. sc. techn. Mike Schlaich
Partner at schlaich bergermann partner SE
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Wagner
Head of the Department of Building Science and Technology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Frank Zimmermann
CTO Window Solutions, REHAU Industries SE & Co. KG