Learning
from
post-carbon
architecture
Resource protection
RESOURCE
PROTECTION
The construction sector causes a considerable part of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and resource shortage through the extraction of non-renewable raw materials, energy- and resource-intensive production methods, long transport routes, building operation and disposal without further use. In addition, the increasing consumption of land threatens the natural habitats of plants and animals.
Reducing the use of fossil based materials in the building sector requires a minimal extraction of new raw materials, consideration of the entire life cycle by building up material cycles according to the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" principle and a drastically reduced use of new land. The focus in construction must be on preserving the existing built environment and grey energy, using only renewable materials in new construction and extending the life of building materials to the maximum. The sector can achieve this through sensitive maintenance and repair, reversible and convertible components, spatial adaptations to changing human space needs and sustainable lifestyles by drastically reducing individual space demands in the global north.
Administration Building Tierpark
The Tierpark administration building was refurbished in 2019 with a new prefabricated timber panel facade connected to the existing structure and the renovation of the building services. The project demonstrates resource-conserving refurbishment as a sustainable and economical alternative to demolition and new construction.
see full projectKleiner Prinz
The Prinz-Eugen-Quartier in Munich-Bogenhausen is Europe's largest coherent timber construction model district. It includes a mix of different residential building typologies with collectively used outdoor areas and communal workspaces. The buildings are designed as "empty shells" for residents to customize and are part of a holistic sustainable building concept.
see full projectWalden48
The Walden48 residential building is constructed entirely of wood, with a flexible layout and untreated larch planks on the facade facing the cemetery. Geothermal piles provide summer cooling and winter heating. It combines sustainable construction approaches such as a participatory planning process and renewable resource use.
see full projectDAYCARE CENTER And Residental Building Ellener Hof
Ellener Hof is a neighborhood in Bremen featuring up to 500 units for residents with a hight amount of wood construction. The neighborhood prioritizes low-car infrastructure and social mixing, with publicly accessible common areas. Stair and elevator cores are built in solid wood, and the buildings have minimal need for building service technology.
see full projectPreservation and Maintenance
Preservation and
Maintenance
The current logic of the real estate market promotes demolition and new construction leading to the destruction of vast amounts of intact building fabric and creating high economic and ecological burdens for society. In demolition, the raw materials and resources already invested in buildings are replaced and disposed of, leading to a value chain dead end.
The most urgent task of the building sector is the preservation, renovation, conversion and development of existing building stock through a new culture of conversion, especially in regions such as western Europe with their ageing demographic. Protecting the existing building fabric and reducing energy consumption during operation requires making existing buildings more energy efficient and durable. The expansion of education programmes would train and educate more people to undertake repair and conversion measures and adapt them to changing requirements. For consistent protection of resources, the demolition of buildings should be stopped and only be allowed in exceptional cases, respecting strict material and immaterial criteria and compensatory conditions.
Administration Building Tierpark
The Tierpark administration building was refurbished in 2019 with a new prefabricated timber panel facade connected to the existing structure and the renovation of the building services. The project demonstrates resource-conserving refurbishment as a sustainable and economical alternative to demolition and new construction.
see full projectCasa Rossa
The "Casa Rossa" building in Chemnitz was renovated using natural materials and a minimalist design concept. The building's energy consumption is low due to highly insulated envelopes and a solar thermal system on the roof. The building's prominent brickwork was completed, repaired, and glazed for a uniform surface, revealing traces of construction and repairs in the past.
see full projectEiermannbau
Careful interventions are being made to the existing structure of the listed Eiermannbau to make it usable again, with new technical services installed visibly to enable easy removal in the future. Innovative concepts are being developed and tested within the existing industrial monument as part of the IBA Thüringen.
see full projectNATURAL Construction Material
NATURAL
Construction
Material
With the shortsighted aim of saving as much time and money as possible during the construction and operation process of buildings, building products increasingly consist of poor quality, one-way and often hazardous components. This attitude produces problems in the long term through high energy and resource consumption and environmental pollution after a short service life.
Environmentally compatible building materials are reused or renewable raw materials that require minimal use of resources in production and have positive effects on the ecosystem, such as binding carbon dioxide. They have a long service life due to their intended use, installation situation and chemical, physical and biological material properties that are reversibly joined with other materials so that they can be repaired and deconstructed. Additionally, natural building materials have a positive and healthy influence on the indoor climate through moisture regulation and vapour permeability. These properties protect against external health risks such as smog, noise or mould and promote biodiversity through their design and haptics by integrating flora and fauna.
Administration Building Tierpark
The Tierpark administration building was refurbished in 2019 with a new prefabricated timber panel facade connected to the existing structure and the renovation of the building services. The project demonstrates resource-conserving refurbishment as a sustainable and economical alternative to demolition and new construction.
see full projectIWL Werkstatt
A new workshop for people with disabilities was built in Landsberg am Lech using a hybrid timber construction system. The building utilizes natural light and waste heat to generate energy, and its design allows for easy conversions and accessibility for maintenance.
see full projectKleiner Prinz
The Prinz-Eugen-Quartier in Munich-Bogenhausen is Europe's largest coherent timber construction model district. It includes a mix of different residential building typologies with collectively used outdoor areas and communal workspaces. The buildings are designed as "empty shells" for residents to customize and are part of a holistic sustainable building concept.
see full projectCasa Rossa
The "Casa Rossa" building in Chemnitz was renovated using natural materials and a minimalist design concept. The building's energy consumption is low due to highly insulated envelopes and a solar thermal system on the roof. The building's prominent brickwork was completed, repaired, and glazed for a uniform surface, revealing traces of construction and repairs in the past.
see full projectWalden48
The Walden48 residential building is constructed entirely of wood, with a flexible layout and untreated larch planks on the facade facing the cemetery. Geothermal piles provide summer cooling and winter heating. It combines sustainable construction approaches such as a participatory planning process and renewable resource use.
see full projectEiermannbau
Careful interventions are being made to the existing structure of the listed Eiermannbau to make it usable again, with new technical services installed visibly to enable easy removal in the future. Innovative concepts are being developed and tested within the existing industrial monument as part of the IBA Thüringen.
see full projectDAYCARE CENTER And Residental Building Ellener Hof
Ellener Hof is a neighborhood in Bremen featuring up to 500 units for residents with a hight amount of wood construction. The neighborhood prioritizes low-car infrastructure and social mixing, with publicly accessible common areas. Stair and elevator cores are built in solid wood, and the buildings have minimal need for building service technology.
see full projectLocal Production Cycles
Local Production
Cycles
The construction sector extracts large quantities of primary resources worldwide, which are processed and often in disposal become hazardous waste after a short usage period. These linear value chains sustain the existing global power structure and cause serious ecological and social damage, especially in the extraction of materials and disposal of construction waste.
To build a circular economy with a local radius, renewable materials must be used and processed with low logistical and energy costs, intelligent craft practices and a new understanding of value creation, independent from economic growth. Furthermore, it is especially important for the global North to take responsibility for its exploitative practices and to promote fair and public welfare-oriented economic relations.
IWL Werkstatt
A new workshop for people with disabilities was built in Landsberg am Lech using a hybrid timber construction system. The building utilizes natural light and waste heat to generate energy, and its design allows for easy conversions and accessibility for maintenance.
see full projectCasa Rossa
The "Casa Rossa" building in Chemnitz was renovated using natural materials and a minimalist design concept. The building's energy consumption is low due to highly insulated envelopes and a solar thermal system on the roof. The building's prominent brickwork was completed, repaired, and glazed for a uniform surface, revealing traces of construction and repairs in the past.
see full projectEiermannbau
Careful interventions are being made to the existing structure of the listed Eiermannbau to make it usable again, with new technical services installed visibly to enable easy removal in the future. Innovative concepts are being developed and tested within the existing industrial monument as part of the IBA Thüringen.
see full projectIntegrative District Planning
Integrative
District Planning
Cities and their inhabitants already consume around 80% of the world's energy and resources - a development only accelerating with rapid urbanisation in the global south. At the same time, big cities are hit particularly strongly by the consequences of climate change. Overheating, soil sealing and dysfunctional urban planning pose an increasing threat to these pressurised population centres.
Cities and neighbourhoods are powerful actors and spaces for innovation in the transformation towards a just, green and productive society. They need to be planned holistically, context-specificly, with reduced land use, smart mobility, energy and resource infrastructures, affordable, inclusive and safe accessibility, and a fair participation culture. The interest of the common good and the strengthening of civil society and political opinion-forming must be the focus of all decisions.
Kleehäuser Quartier Vauban
The multigenerational and barrier-free residential buildings Kleehäuser, located in the context of the climate-friendly model district Vauban in Freiburg im Breisgau are pioneering projects in ecological construction regarding their integrated waste, sanitation, heating and energy systems and the democratic organisation of living together.
see full projectKleiner Prinz
The Prinz-Eugen-Quartier in Munich-Bogenhausen is Europe's largest coherent timber construction model district. It includes a mix of different residential building typologies with collectively used outdoor areas and communal workspaces. The buildings are designed as "empty shells" for residents to customize and are part of a holistic sustainable building concept.
see full projectSpreefeld
Spreefeld is a passive house standard construction project comprising three wood-concrete hybrid buildings with individually adapted living spaces. The project's diverse community is due to a solidarity-based financing concept and participatory planning process.
see full projectDAYCARE CENTER And Residental Building Ellener Hof
Ellener Hof is a neighborhood in Bremen featuring up to 500 units for residents with a hight amount of wood construction. The neighborhood prioritizes low-car infrastructure and social mixing, with publicly accessible common areas. Stair and elevator cores are built in solid wood, and the buildings have minimal need for building service technology.
see full projectEnergy Management
Energy Management
The production, operation and disposal of buildings account for almost 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions and rising. Poorly renovated old building stock, cheap fossil building materials and complex building technology ensure an increasing consumption of planetary energy resources.
The energy consumption of the building sector must be drastically reduced through sufficiency, intelligent and self-responsible user behaviour and an increase of energy efficiency without rebound effects. The reduction of new construction and the individual demands on room sizes as well as comfort bring very large savings potentials and can be implemented with immediate effect through education campaigns. In addition, building materials with high energy consumption, transport routes and fragile technology must be actively reduced and replaced by insulated and upgraded building envelopes with external sun protection, compact building volumes, heat recovery and component activation. Further climate-positive effects must be achieved through local energy generation, facade and roof greening, water recycling, renaturation, biodiverse green spaces and regular monitoring
Kleehäuser Quartier Vauban
The multigenerational and barrier-free residential buildings Kleehäuser, located in the context of the climate-friendly model district Vauban in Freiburg im Breisgau are pioneering projects in ecological construction regarding their integrated waste, sanitation, heating and energy systems and the democratic organisation of living together.
see full projectIWL Werkstatt
A new workshop for people with disabilities was built in Landsberg am Lech using a hybrid timber construction system. The building utilizes natural light and waste heat to generate energy, and its design allows for easy conversions and accessibility for maintenance.
see full projectSpreefeld
Spreefeld is a passive house standard construction project comprising three wood-concrete hybrid buildings with individually adapted living spaces. The project's diverse community is due to a solidarity-based financing concept and participatory planning process.
see full projectWalden48
The Walden48 residential building is constructed entirely of wood, with a flexible layout and untreated larch planks on the facade facing the cemetery. Geothermal piles provide summer cooling and winter heating. It combines sustainable construction approaches such as a participatory planning process and renewable resource use.
see full projectRathaus im Stühlinger
The administration center in Freiburg is a net-plus-energy public building that combines various administrative locations into one building. The building uses various energy sources and geothermal energy for heating and cooling. The city hall is open to the public and features a partial air conditioning system, heating-cooling sails, and heat recovery.
see full project