Rund 200 Gäste aus Wirtschaft, Bau- und Immobilienbranche besuchten die 2. Ausgabe der neuen BUWOG-Veranstaltungsreihe „BUWOG im Gespräch“.

Around 200 guests from the business, construction and real estate sectors attended the 2nd edition of the new BUWOG event series “BUWOG in conversation”.

Animated exchange and discussions on the subject of modular construction
Keen interest in continuing the BUWOG event series
Numerous renowned guests from the business, construction and real estate sectors

On Thursday, 25 April 2024, BUWOG hosted a new and second edition of the “BUWOG in Dialogue” event at the Customer and Administrative Centre on Vienna’s Rathausstraße. Titled “Modular construction – How good are line-produced apartments?”, the event was dedicated entirely to the systemic construction process. The evening started off with a fascinating keynote speech by Markus Fuhrmann. Co-founder and CEO of GROPYUS, a PropTech company dedicated to sustainable, serial timber construction, he shed light on the various aspects of modular construction. He then exchanged views with the other panellists, including Bettina Götz (ARTEC Architekten/professor of design and building construction at the Berlin University of the Arts), Karin Stieldorf (programme director for sustainable construction at the Vienna University of Technology) and Daniel Riedl (development director at Vonovia SE), who addressed the topic from a variety of perspectives and included the advantages and disadvantages of modular construction as well as the aspects of architecture, society and the cityscape it entails. There was also a short excursus on serial refurbishment. The event was once again moderated by Rainer Nowak.

The fact that the event’s topic encountered enormous interest was also shown by the number of guests in attendance: BUWOG was once again able to welcome around 200 participants from the business, construction and property sectors to its own event hall. Among them were familiar faces such as Daniela Witt-Dörring (partner at WEBER & Co.), Alfred Waschl (managing director of buildingSMART Austria), Michael Schranz (managing director of Handler Bau GmbH), Sne Veselinović (architect), Nadja Hafez (managing director of ZEHA Real Estate Services GmbH) and Christoph Zechner (architect).

(v.l.) GROPYUS CEO Markus Fuhrmann, Expertin für nachhaltiges Bauen Karin Stieldorf, Architektin und Professorin Bettina Götz, Vonovia Vorstandsmitglied Daniel Riedl und Moderator Rainer Nowak.

Sustainable and digital: Residential construction reconceived

The topic of modular construction is not a new one; in fact, it has preoccupied the construction industry for decades. However, it is now enjoying a resurgence due to rising construction costs and high energy prices. While critics are predicting the return of prefabricated construction, the modular construction method is considered by many to be THE concept of the future. The reasons for this are obvious: It is highly efficient, particularly in terms of construction time, and is also cost-effective, flexible and climate-compatible. At its core, serial and modular construction means that industrially prefabricated building components only need to be assembled on the construction site. That means the traditional construction site with its variety of trades largely becomes an assembly site. Sustainability is an important factor that affects society as a whole and basically every company. Project developers such as BUWOG find it necessary to be one step ahead of the requirements for climate-friendly construction methods in order to develop residential properties that are fit for the future and will still be considered sustainable in 50 years’ time. This is because it is the property sector in which a wide range of measures enable a valuable contribution to climate protection.

For Markus Fuhrmann, serial construction is the model for the future: “The housing market urgently needs innovative solutions to overcome the growing housing shortage. At the same time, there is untapped potential in the market to digitally redesign processes in order to build more cost-efficiently and sustainably. We have set ourselves the task of digitalising and industrialising the entire value chain of the ‘housing’ product in order to create affordable and sustainable homes.”

In addition to the numerous advantages of modular construction, Daniel Riedl sees a need for the industry to look for alternatives for the residential development and construction. He points out that under the current framework, the balancing act between affordable and sustainable housing cannot be achieved. In addition to clear measures on the part of politicians, new methods and approaches are a matter of urgency. The use of alternative building materials, modular construction and the circular economy have long been topics with which BUWOG seeks to level up its project development activity. “Our goal is to be a pioneer in sustainable project development. Through our cooperation with GROPYUS, our aim is to further accelerate this goal, because the PropTech company’s innovative approach to the development of residential property is a 1:1 match to our aspirations.”

Bettina Götz says: “Building with prefabricated modules is sensible a structural and economic point of view. The question is the generation of architectural space when bringing these modules together. To avoid the threat of schematism, which we have been familiar with since the tower blocks of the 1970s, individualised design is necessary in the floor plan as well as in the vertical layering of the buildings.”

Karin Stieldorf points out that modular construction is nothing new: “Advantages such as shorter production times and cost-effectiveness were already recognised in antiquity and the Renaissance and later advanced in industrial construction. Today, modular construction has a large market share – more and more so in the refurbishment of façades, for example. There is a good chance that CO2 emissions in the construction industry can be reduced by digitally recording the life cycle of buildings. However, the complexity of modular construction also poses a major challenge.”

The next “BUWOG in Dialogue” event is planned for fall of 2024.