Resource scarcity and the energy crisis are challenging the real estate industry to re-use existing building materials and re-use existing buildings. The newly founded Association for Building in Existing Contexts (BiB) e.V. is committed to making better use of existing properties as the greatest lever for climate goals. The founding members of the BiB pool their competencies and advocate for a common, comprehensive and life-cycle-based understanding of building in existing contexts. The aim is to ensure decisive progress and market standards for existing buildings, which are necessary to achieve the climate goals and sustainability strategy in Germany.
To achieve its goals, the association wants to win over all those involved in the value chain, from craftsmen to real estate companies to financiers, to exchange ideas and set new standards from planning to execution to financing and in close exchange with politics. “The first step for us is to bring all industry participants to one table and develop market standards. DIN 276, for example, is a typical standard that was developed for new buildings at the time. It cannot currently be adapted well for existing buildings. There are numerous other examples of this,” says 1st Chair Sarah Dungs, Managing Director of the Greyfield Group.
The fact that the real estate stock deserves a second chance and can fully develop its potential in re-use or conversion requires above all educational work. With its expertise in the construction sector, the BiB offers knowledge transfer and aims to provide targeted education and training for professionals. “We want to bundle the knowledge of the sector and form a platform,” says Dungs. In doing so, the training and further education offers are to be designed in a practice-oriented way: Challenges from construction practice are to be discussed in a solution-oriented manner to then develop recommendations for action for the sector. New standards are also to be set in the association’s work, for example through hackathons.
The existing stock is the face of our cities and decisive for climate targets. “The challenges are manifold, and we bear responsibility for ourselves and the future with our actions. We must accept and drive the transformation towards the conversion of existing buildings to be able to shape the future together in a way that creates value,” demands Sarah Dungs. The real estate stock is also of decisive importance for urban development: “The identity of a city is created over centuries. If we continue as before, we will not only lose the spirit of our cities, but also our planet! The existing stock is the great lever and new construction is a luxury – and that is how we should deal with it, sparingly,” adds Diana Anastasija Radke, 2nd Chair and Managing Partner, KVL Bauconsult GmbH.
The newly founded network is supported by the following founding members:
Georg Bremer, Authorised Signatory, KVL Bauconsult GmbH
Sarah Dungs, Managing Director, Greyfield Group
Nicola Halder-Haß, Managing Partner, Bricks&Beyond GmbH
Karen Klessinger, Creative Director, Head of Destination Development, dan pearlman Markenarchitektur GmbH
Dietrich Mehrhoff, Managing Director, Landplus GmbH
Diana Anastasija Radke, Managing Partner, KVL Bauconsult GmbH
Martina Rozok, Managing Partner, ROZOK GmbH
Timm Sassen, CEO & Founder, Greyfield Group
Benjamin Slosharek, Sustainability Expert, KVL Bauconsult GmbH
Annabelle von Reutern, Head of Business Development, Concular GmbH
Matthias Werner, Managing Partner, KVL Bauconsult München GmbH
Dorothee Wetzler-Stöbe, Managing Director, STÖBE Agentur für Kommunikation GmbH
