Showcase district in focus: female architects call for a “construction turnaround” in Regensburg  

Created: 07/19/2022, 20:20

By: Stefan Aigner

The "Architects for Future" are calling for a "construction turnaround" in Regensburg.

© Armin Weigel

The "Architects for Future" call for a rethinking of material waste in the construction industry.

Now they have turned to the city council in Regensburg.

The whole thing is good in the Regensburg town hall coalition, says CSU faction leader Jürgen Eberwein.

Basically at least.

Via CSU city councilor Kathrin Fuchshuber, a new coalition of architects has "fed" several proposals into the coalition, which politicians are currently discussing.

"Construction turnaround now" for Regensburg: warning of waste and waste of raw materials

The aim of the “Architects for Future”: preserve and renovate buildings instead of demolishing them, reuse demolition material and not just as filler in road construction, minimize surface sealing, more green and strengthen the social city structure.

These are just a few of the demands that the “Architects for Future” are also petitioning the Bundestag with.

Title "Bauwende now!" Almost 58,000 people have signed the appeal so far, which is supported by a number of well-known personalities and associations such as the Federal Chamber of Architects.

Architect founds regional group of "Architects for Future" in Regensburg

Among other things, the offshoot of the "Fridays for Future" movement calculates that the construction industry is responsible for around 40 percent of all CO2 emissions, 35 percent of energy consumption, 60 percent of waste and 90 percent of non-renewable mineral raw materials are consumed here .

In Regensburg, the architect Ulla Basqué founded a regional group together with some fellow campaigners and has now also turned to the city council.

"Architects for Future" in Regensburg: The founder is no stranger

Basque is no stranger.

She had submitted a plan for the former slaughterhouse, in the course of which the city itself should have developed the area.

In 2008, she was able to prove in her award-winning work that the city of Regensburg could have earned around 16.9 million euros if it had developed the 6.9-hectare area in-house.

Not only living space at moderate prices, but also a lively district for everyone.

But things turned out differently.

The city sold the site under the aegis of Mayor Hans Schaidinger in 2011 at a bargain price to an Austrian real estate company and in the end even had to pay more because of the disposal of contaminated sites.

Nothing came of the promised marina in the so-called "Marinaquartier".

Apartments cost top prices here.

Basqué's plans were never discussed in the city council.

A municipal development of the site was "politically undesirable", it was said at the time.

(By the way: Our brand new Regensburg newsletter will keep you regularly informed about all the important stories from the World Heritage city and the Upper Palatinate. Register here.)

"Construction turnaround now": Female architects focus on showcase districts

Basqué is not discouraged by this.

Through CSU city councilor Kathrin Fuchshuber, she and a colleague have now also fed the coalition with several proposals for the former Prinz Leopold barracks.

The Prinz-Leopold-Barracks, in short: PLK, should one day become a model district in Regensburg - energy self-sufficient, climate-neutral, affordable living space, mostly from the municipal housing subsidiary.

But that's not enough for Basqué and Eckl.

For the PLK, too, they demand the preservation of several buildings or at least a viable justification for their demolition.

According to the paper, some buildings can be renovated as "meaningful" for the area in an exemplary manner and earmarked for public use.

"Construction turnaround now" in Regensburg: coalition remains cautious

But even if the coalition thinks the whole thing is "fundamentally" good, some things don't work, say CSU faction leader Jürgen Eberwein and Mayor Gertrud Maltz-Schwarzfischer (SPD).

At a meeting of the planning committee last week, the head of the planning office, Tanja Flemig, said that it was “very difficult” at the moment to discuss the preservation of buildings.

A large part has already broken off, is in the process of being demolished or has already been gutted.

For the most part, the foundations are soaked through and can only be repaired "with enormous effort", seconded the mayor.

Demand for a turnaround in construction: A building could be preserved

Under certain circumstances, however, the guest testing building could still be saved, the preservation of which the "Architects for Future" have in mind.

The Greens, ÖDP, Ribisl city councilor Jakob Friedl and Irmgard Freihoffer (left) recently submitted an application in which they demand that the current temporary cultural use of the building be extended by the Kulturviertel eV and that the demolition, which had actually been decided, be suspended.

"The relatively small but striking building could serve as a reminder of the area's military past as the

last architectural relic and historical anchor point," the statement said.

"Because of its location and the specific structural design with large glass walls, the building is ideal as an 'information box' and a connecting element to the emerging quarter."

"Construction turnaround now": coalition wants to draw up a policy paper

According to Eberwein, the coalition does not want to close its eyes to at least this approach.

In any case, it will be checked again whether the demolition is really necessary, according to the CSU parliamentary group leader.

Time is not pressing anyway: The location is part of the restricted industrial area in the former PLK, which is only to be planned in Phase II.

As far as the further proposals of the "Architects for Future" are concerned, one definitely wants to draw up a policy paper - as a basis for future land use planning, says CSU parliamentary group leader Eberwein.

Central requirement: reuse demolition material

A central point from which Basqué and Eckl have high hopes: “Urban mines”.

A processing of building materials from demolished buildings in order to feed them back to the raw material market.

The use of shredded building material in road construction, so-called downcycling, is not enough.

"Urban mines should make the regional construction industry less dependent on imported raw materials and avoid long transport routes," says the paper for the coalition.

“This requires a separable design.

The digitization of the existing buildings makes the raw material potential of a database available, eg Madaster.” Schneider and Basqué cite the city of Heidelberg as a role model, where demolished buildings are to be used in the future as material storage for new construction projects.

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