The driving forces behind the city of the future

• 10 winners awarded in the categories “Digital Education”, “Energy-efficient Urban Rehabilitation” and “Social and Affordable Living”
• The award ceremony was held on 27 June 2022 in Berlin
• The prizes are worth a total of € 50,000

Climate change, digitalisation and demographic change present huge challenges for our cities. The cities of tomorrow need innovative concepts and bold solutions. To put the spotlight on sustainable and pioneering projects in towns, cities and communities, KfW has created a new award: the KfW Award Urban Living. The criteria included integration, innovation, affordability and sustainability. The winning projects received awards in the categories of “Energy-efficient Urban Rehabilitation”, “Digital Education” and “Social and Affordable Living”. The aim is to use these successful examples to provide impetus for the cities of tomorrow and motivate others to follow suit.

From the submitted proposals, the 12-member jury of experts selected 10 winners, with the total prize money of EUR 50,000 being shared between them.

Digital Education

• Barmstedt, Schleswig-Holstein: the EISSBaR – Digital School project in Barmstedt and the surrounding region
• Olpe, North Rhine-Westphalia: 1. House of Learning (HoL)
• East Frisia and Papenburg, Lower Saxony: digital training fair

Energy-efficient Urban Rehabilitation

• Geisa, Thuringia: listed historic town centre and climate change
• Potsdam, Brandenburg: Gartenstadt Drewitz [Garden City] en route to becoming a zero-emissions city
• Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia: Stadtlabor Sennestadt [municipal laboratory] – creating a climate-neutral district through energy-efficient urban rehabilitation

Social and Affordable Housing

• Gars am Inn, Bavaria: replacement of the “Oberschätzlhaus” with a new building on the historic market square
• Hanover, Lower Saxony: Bleekstrasse 32
• Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia: SeWo-LWL programme for independent, technology-assisted living in the district
• Augsburg, Bavaria: graduating high school later in life and affordable living – a home for Bayernkolleg students

Stefan Wintels, Chief Executive Officer of KfW, says: “We find ourselves in a “decade of decision” that will shape the conditions under which our children and grandchildren will live in the future. KfW views itself as a driver of change towards a sustainable society. Municipalities are the centre of people’s lives, making them the places where change can be perceived straight away. This is why it is so important to demonstrate what a liveable city of the future could look like. We are using the KfW Award Urban Living to give pioneering projects a platform. It is about learning from and inspiring each other."

The award ceremony was held on 27 June 2022 at the German Local Authorities Congress [Deutscher Kommunalkongress] in Berlin. Around 800 representatives from cities and municipalities were in attendance when the award winners were presented and honoured by Stefan Wintels (KfW), Dr Rolf Bösinger (State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building) and Ralph Spiegler (President of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities). The news station n-tv will report on the ceremony in a special broadcast.

More information at www.kfw.de/leben

Digital Education

Barmstedt, Schleswig-Holstein: the EISSBaR – Digital School project in Barmstedt and the surrounding region
Together with its neighbouring municipalities, Barmstedt established a uniform digital infrastructure in a total of eight schools in the region. The project is built around the provision of a comprehensive network, stable WLAN, end devices, modern presentation technology, a well-thought-out learning management system, and further training for teachers.

Olpe, North Rhine-Westphalia: 1. House of Learning (HoL)
New digital formats for school lessons (STEM) in a fully equipped classroom are the focus of a cooperative project between Städtisches Gymnasium Olpe (a grammar school) and the University of Siegen. Experienced and aspiring teachers, students and scientists combine scientific research, practical elements and technology in beneficial ways to create synergies. The aim is to bring about advancement in education through participation, sustainability and digitalisation.

East Frisia and Papenburg: digital training fair
Due to the pandemic, this face-to-face vocational training fair – organised by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for East Frisia and Papenburg with the city of Emden and the educational region of East Frisia – went digital in 2020. The digital training fair is comparable to a job exchange with an added chat function. Since then, the trade fair has been held digitally three times, and has since developed into a permanently accessible platform providing low-threshold services for pupils and students. The research and application processes have been made much easier to complete.

Energy-efficient Urban Rehabilitation

Geisa, Thuringia: listed historic town centre and climate change
The goal of this groundbreaking project is to ensure an independent supply of energy and heat. The town’s special topography – given its location on a mountain spur – and its patchwork of listed buildings within the historic town walls calls for a unique solution. Photovoltaics systems and insulation cannot be installed in such buildings. Waste wood from the nearby forest is now being used to fuel a local heating supply network. Meanwhile, solar cells installed outside the historic centre contribute to the supply of electricity.

Potsdam, Brandenburg: Gartenstadt Drewitz is en route to becoming a zero-emissions city
This project led to the transformation from prefabricated buildings to a climate-neutral, green residential complex replete with an attractive mobility solution. Power-to-Heat and solar thermal energy now supply “green district heating”, the buildings’ energy requirements have been halved, and new photovoltaic systems have been installed. The residents participated in the conversion at each stage of the process. The result: a “short-link city” with an excellent profile.

Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia: Sennestadt municipal laboratory – creating a climate-neutral district through energy-efficient urban rehabilitation
Sennestadt was designed as a model city by urban planner Hans-Bernhard Reichow in 1956. High-rise, terraced and multi-family houses create a good social mix as part of a polycentric, organic urban landscape. Based on an exemplary concept and a great deal of commitment, it has been possible to safeguard the unique heritage of Sennestadt's layout, which is the epitome of post-war modernism. This project combines energy-efficient rehabilitation with new construction and a reinforced identity.

Social and Affordable Housing

Gars am Inn, Bavaria: Replacing the “Oberschätzlhaus” with a new building on the historic market square
The original “Oberschätzlhaus” had to be demolished and left a gap that was difficult to fill for many years. The municipality’s intention was to revive the old town centre by replacing the building by means of sustainable new construction. This measure gave disadvantaged citizens access to an affordable, barrier-free living space in a design that blends seamlessly into the small town's overall profile. This project has managed to create housing close to local amenities, thereby strengthening community life.

Hanover, Lower Saxony: Bleekstrasse 32
A new residential building with 18 single-room apartments for former homeless people has been built in the middle of the countryside on the premises of a former plant nursery at Bleekstrasse in Hanover-Kirchrode. The approx. 5,000 square metres of land was formerly home to a house of six residential units run by Soziale Wohnraumhilfe (SWH; social housing assistance), which had become outdated and had to be demolished. This led to a new lease of life for the plot of land: people in need of housing have now found a new home here thanks to the new building complex, which is built around an innovative modular timber construction solution reflecting the KfW Efficiency House 55 standard.

Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia: SeWo-LWL programme for independent and technology-assisted living in the district
The project is a beacon for neighbourhood inclusion. New buildings serving a prototype function were built at various locations in Westphalia-Lippe for people requiring special support. These buildings are barrier-free, affordable, supported by the latest technology and well connected in terms of infrastructure. This makes encounters between people with and without disabilities more natural in everyday life. The inclusive project required an interdisciplinary approach (planning, construction, technology, education and real estate management).

Augsburg, Bavaria: Graduating high school later in life and affordable living – a home for Bayernkolleg students
This elongated, double-angled building blends seamlessly into the listed university complex, which dates back to 1950s. An indicator that this is a special time in a person’s life: imaginative spaces designed for shared use, including tasteful bay-window seating, and safe havens in the form of (barrier-free) apartments for single individuals and mothers with children – a prime alternative to an overpriced and isolated life in the city. This is a forward-looking project in terms of the environment, pairing sustainable construction in accordance with the passive house standard with preservation of the old stock of trees.