Following an earlier post about the Breite III participatory charrettes in Riegel, Germany (see post here); below is a write-up from Andreas Von Zadow who shares some of the discussions with participants that took place on 12 and 13 October 2018. The article closes with a view to the next steps which includes the creation of a masterplan concept for Breite III. This will be presented back to the public on the 22 November 2018.
We have to shift from me-living to we-living if we truly want to achieve sustainable settlements! – Joachim Eble, EMP Tübingen
As an introduction to a public cooperative planning process for the 4,000 strong community of Riegel, Joachim Eble, town planner, architect and pioneer in sustainable masterplanning presented a number of European best practice projects. With his presentation he introduced a new terminology to describe an increasingly important trend in designing new, sustainable neighbourhoods: Creating conditions for We-Living, which means smaller units in collaborative housing projects, instead of continuing with ME-living, the default credo for single housing plots for young families with 2 cars, 2 motor cycles and 4 bikes each.
Many owners of those single-family houses want to sell their houses, because they are too large for them after the kids have flown the nest. On the other hand, the dwellings can easily be reused for collaborative living, with other adults or elderly people who are in the same position and would love to share their places and lives with others.
Collaborative living needs appropriate building formats suited to the new area of Riegel that is to be developed. If that happens, we can sell our houses, move with our friends and live together with them just a few streets away. Young families looking for somewhere to live could buy them without having to build their own, including their mature gardens. One of the Riegel house owners at the workshop session said,
This is a win-win-situation that would create advantages for all of us, and be a sustainable use of resources at the same time!
Participants were keen for the development area to be based on sustainable water and energy solutions. However, as architect, town planner and auditor for the German Green Building Council DGNB, Rolf Messerschmidt, pointed out:
Many things are possible, but not everything is financially affordable.
The very well attended planning weekend, facilitated by Eble Messerschmidt & Partner and VON ZADOW INTERNATIONAL, focussed mainly on housing typologies and models for compact, multifunctional living for people of all ages, that are accessible and affordable for all. They should be combined with a mix of services: health and maintenance support, small offices and co-working spaces, and of course a broad range of green environments such as leisure and children’s facilities serving not only the local inhabitants but the whole of Riegel.
So, let’s look forward to seeing the new masterplan concept for “Breite III” to be presented on 22.11.2018 in Riegel. The day after the presentation, the local support group (Unterstützerkreis), whose 25 members are nurturing this extraordinary development project, will commit backing and assistance from regional and state level as well as approaching private investors to bring this project to fruition.
Andreas Von Zadow
You can learn more about Von Zadow International on their website