An assortment of old and new buildings in Cologne and a historic townhouse in Franconia win the 2018 KfW Construction Award

• Motto: "Creating and modernising aesthetic and efficient living space"
• Winners from Cologne, Pappenheim, Munich, Weiden, Berlin, Jettenbach and the Black Forest
• International special prize awarded to the "Alizari" social housing project in France

For the 16th time, KfW Group has presented its annual KfW Construction Award. The KfW Award honours developers or building associations that have implemented new building projects or expanded, converted, modernised or revitalised an existing building in the past five years. The German Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community, Horst Seehofer, is the KfW Construction Award's patron. Headed up by architect Professor Hans Kollhoff, the jury evaluated the projects for a balance of architecture and appearance, good integration into the architectural surroundings, energy and cost efficiency, future-oriented and sustainable building methods, optimum use of space and land, and individual comfort. The jury awarded seven domestic properties prize money totalling EUR 35,000. In many cases, the winners also achieved the standards of KfW Efficiency Houses, breaking down barriers with their impressive architecture.

KfW also presented an award to an international project for the second time. The winner of the special prize was the "Alizari" social housing building in Normandy, which meets the passive house standard and was financed by the French promotional bank Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations.

"The KfW Construction Award is intended to honour exemplary housing projects that meet the needs of our time. The focus is on the combination of appealing architecture, energy efficiency, accessibility and living comfort," said Dr Ingrid Hengster, Member of the Executive Board of KfW Group. "All the winners saw more than just square metres, space and profit potential in their plots and old buildings. They all managed to successfully combine the flair of the location with special ideas for use."

The Parliamentary State Secretary for the Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, Stephan Mayer, was present when the winners received their KfW Awards. "The creation of affordable living space and development of residential properties for families with children that take into account factors like energy efficiency and barrier-free living are issues at the heart of the Federal Government's current housing policies. The winning projects very clearly show how developers create new living space, convert it based on need or modernise it according to their own desire to invent creative, intelligent housing. Energy-saving measures are efficiently implemented, barriers are sustainably removed or both are combined with cost reductions in exemplary ways," said Stephan Mayer.

The formal award ceremony took place on 17 May 2018 at Bertelsmann AG's representative office in the German capital.

The winners

New construction category:

First prize (EUR 7,000)

The archbishopric of Cologne and the LK Architekten architecture firm transformed a nuns’ place of solitude in Cologne into an attractive assortment of old and new buildings. Forty-three low-cost residential units have been built, along with offices, and an education and community centre for locals, refugees, families and single-person households.

Second prize (EUR 5,000)

Instead of a dreary car park, Jürgen Krieger and the Heim Kuntscher Architekten architecture firm in Munich built a rustic wooden house. But the three-storey construction is not just romantic, it is also highly energy-efficient.

Third prize (EUR 3,000)

A residence owned by Lebenshilfe gGmbH in Berlin offers 40 disabled people a pleasant and inspiring life with well-thought-out facilities and a versatile garden. In the property designed by architects from the firm büro urbane prozesse, residents can lead independent lives in a light and friendly complex of two buildings in green surroundings.

Existing buildings category:

First prize (EUR 7,000)

In an alleyway in Franconia, builder and architect Michael Aurel Pichler restored a narrow, crooked house. The building clearly tells a rich history while being ideally suited for contemporary use. Old features and new ones become part of the whole, but fragments that are preserved can still be experienced for what they are.

Second prize (EUR 5,000)

Iris and Christian Müller renovated a poorly designed historic townhouse from the 16th century in Weiden. The work of architect Karl-Heinz Beer has made the space livable and bright, and enables it to be used in a variety of ways. Opening up the staircase made the house bright and spacious.

Third prize (EUR 3,000)

A baroque administration building in Bavaria now shines in a new light thanks to Ignaz Graf zu Toerring-Jettenbach and architect Josef Anglhuber from aris architekten — and it is the starting project for revitalisation of the whole town. After careful renovations in line with regulations for listed buildings, it now offers four unconventional apartments, including a 200-m2 loft in what used to be the granary, as well as commercial space.

Jury's special prize category (EUR 5,000)

After putting in a great deal of skill and plenty of heart, Anja Kluge and Ingolf Gössel have managed to save a more than 400-year-old farm in Germany’s Black Forest, turning it into a modern facility that meets KfW Efficiency House standards Thanks to 21°C water coming from a 130m-deep borehole in the ground, the farm is largely energy-independent.

International special prize category:

The special international prize was awarded to a social housing building in Normandy, which meets passive house energy efficiency standards and was financed by French promotional bank Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. The building is classified in line with the French energy conservation and CO2 emissions reduction standard (E+C), though it also meets the stringent German rules for the passive house standard. The project was selected by a KfW team for European affairs and by the experts at the French promotional bank Caisse des Depôts et Consignations.

The specialist jury, which was headed up by Professor Hans Kollhoff, included city planners and energy experts, architects, and representatives from the construction and housing industry, the media and KfW.

KfW promotes measures by private developers to improve energy efficiency on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the energy-efficient construction and refurbishment programme within the scope of the CO2 Building Modernisation programme and the energy efficiency incentive programme. With the Age-Appropriate Conversion programme, barrier removal and burglary protection in residential buildings is promoted on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. This helps developers to meet contemporary building requirements.

You can find information about the promotional opportunities at www.kfw.de or by calling +49 800 539 9002.

More information on the winners and press photos can be found at www.kfw.de/award and www.kfw.de/stories. Media partners of the 2018 KfW Construction Award are the news channel "n-tv" and the daily newspaper "Die Welt".