Green light for a green project: with planning permission granted, BUWOG can now start the new construction project on Münsterberger Weg in Berlin-Kaulsdorf. A total of 166 one- to five-room apartments with approximately 14,300 m² of residential space are being constructed there and with a special sustainable focus: timber as a building material.
The project will be the largest timber development in Germany to be carried out by a single project developer – and the timber construction method implemented here will result in a considerable reduction of CO2: a total of around 5,200 tonnes compared to building with conventional reinforced concrete, as BUWOG evaluated in advance. This corresponds to the amount of CO2 that would be emitted by a car travelling 800 times around the world. The reduction of CO2 compared to conventional solid construction is around 64 percent.
BUWOG is developing a total of 18 terraced and semi-detached houses and seven apartment buildings for rental apartments at the Münsterberger Weg 91-95 site. Demolition work on the old existing buildings on the site has been underway since January 2022 and is expected to continue until the end of June 2022 – in coordination with the authorities. Building can still begin in 2022; the new construction project is expected to be completed in 2024.
BUWOG Managing Director Eva Weiß: “Timber creates a pleasant sense of home comfort, but the renewable raw material also has a highly practical function for the climate as a natural CO2 store. We’ve already had very positive experiences with timber and timber-hybrid construction elsewhere. With the Münsterberger Weg project, we are delighted to be building an entire development using the timber construction method, which could serve as a model for other development projects throughout Germany.”
Sustainability is a top priority in BUWOG’s timber construction project: the residential buildings meet the KfW Efficiency House 55 EE standard. Heat is generated in the development primarily from renewable energy sources using an air-to-water heat pump and photovoltaic systems. A modern gas condensing boiler is used only occasionally to cover peak loads.
The new construction project will also unseal the soil: in the course of constructing the development, a site that was previously 100 percent sealed will only be 35 percent sealed. This will allow the rainwater to seep away on the property entirely or return to the natural water cycle through evaporation and means that it will no longer be necessary to discharge rainwater into the public sewage system in the future. As part of the design of the outdoor and green areas, 620 m² are planned for play areas.
In addition, a premium bicycle plan will be put in place for the residents, making it attractive to dispense with cars: around 457 convenient bicycle parking spaces will be built, 298 outdoors and 159 in lockable bicycle rooms which can be accessed from the underground car park in the lower level.
About BUWOG
BUWOG looks back on over 70 years of experience in the residential property business and currently has a development pipeline of around 55,000 residential units in Germany. BUWOG is a subsidiary of Vonovia SE, Europe’s leading residential property company, which is located in Bochum (Germany), and has an energy management system in accordance with ISO 50001.
