Housing policy - Berlin's building senator: High-rise buildings will not solve the housing shortage
According to Building Senator Christian Gaebler, high-rise buildings are not a decisive contribution to combating the housing shortage in Berlin. "I warn against seeing high-rise buildings as an alternative to "normal height" redensification in the inner city area," the SPD politician told the German Press Agency. "Sometimes you get the impression that the ideal solution at the moment is to say: we'd rather build 100-metre-high residential towers, then we won't have to build anything else elsewhere." But that won't work. "Especially not if you want affordable housing."
High-rise buildings do not only have advantages
The Berlin CDU parliamentary group is campaigning for more high-rise buildings in the capital. In a position paper entitled "Radical, vertical - high-rise buildings as beacons of urban development", the MPs call for a high-rise development plan for Berlin, among other things. Environmentalists and architects have voiced clear criticism.
"We are definitely thinking of mixed models, i.e. hybrid use within a high-rise building - residential, office, commercial, public areas," said Gaebler. "But as far as apartments are concerned, it's not as easy in practice as some people imagine." Not least, legal and economic aspects have to be taken into account: "There are the different fire protection requirements, separate elevators, which is particularly difficult with a small floor area - and expensive to implement."
Living in high-rise buildings is often expensive
High-rise residential buildings are always a question of costing. "Above a certain height, you reach the limits in terms of profitability and ultimately also the affordability of rents," said Gaebler. "In this respect, you can of course build higher and higher - but whether these should actually be mainly residential high-rises over 100 meters is a question mark." That could make sense in individual cases. "But on a larger scale, it's not a solution." Gaebler is also critical of the call for a high-rise development plan: "We have a high-rise model in Berlin, which we want to evaluate and update," he said. "With a high-rise development plan, you always have to be careful what the specific consequences are. For example, if you say with pinpoint accuracy: high-rise buildings are going to be built here and there, you will immediately drive up land prices." It is important to take a differentiated view of the issue: "I don't think the black-and-white discussion of 'high-rise buildings are great or high-rise buildings are terrible' helps us," said the SPD politician. "High-rise buildings are a contribution to urban development, including sustainable urban development in terms of land consumption. We need to look at whether this applies to energy consumption."
Gaebler considers high-rises near the subway to be justifiable
Gaebler believes that fundamental objections to high-rise buildings in the city center and near subway tunnels are wrong: "High-rise construction is technically feasible in principle, even near subways like Alexanderplatz," he said. "But then you have to look very carefully at what additional precautionary measures are necessary during construction so that the existing infrastructure is not damaged."
The issue is considered controversial in Berlin after traffic on the U2 underground line at Alexanderplatz had to be restricted for months in October 2022. During the construction of a high-rise building on Alex, the adjacent subway tunnel tubes had sunk several centimetres. This necessitated extensive stabilization work in the U2 tunnel.
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- Building Senator Christian Gaebler from the SPD in Berlin articulates that high-rise buildings are not a significant solution to the city's housing shortage.
- The CDU parliamentary group in Berlin advocates for more high-rise buildings, presenting a position paper titled "Radical, vertical - high-rise buildings as beacons of urban development."
- Gaebler communicates his intentions to explore mixed-use models in high-rise buildings, including residential, commercial, and public spaces.
- The SPD politician acknowledges the challenges of implementing high-rise apartments, citing fire protection requirements, separate elevators, and economical considerations.
- Gaebler points out that building extremely tall residential buildings beyond a certain height can become unprofitable and lead to expensive rents.
- The Berlin Senate, led by Gaebler, is responsible for reevaluating and updating the city's existing high-rise model, aiming to avoid escalating land prices.
- According to Gaebler, fundamental objections against high-rise buildings in city centers and near subway tunnels are misplaced, emphasizing the need for careful precautions during construction.
- In October 2022, traffic on Berlin's U2 underground line was restricted due to concerns regarding the potential impact of high-rise construction on nearby subway tunnels, incurring costly stabilization work.
Source: www.stern.de
