Reallabor Gebäude – Building as Living Lab for climate neutral, demand-driven and affordable accommodations

Housing is of great importance for the energy transition, because almost 27% of the final energy consumption in Austria in 2021 was accounted for by private households (electricity, heat, hot water) (Source: Federal Ministry for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology: Energy in Austria – Figures, Data Facts, Vienna, 2021.)

It is therefore essential to increase the renovation rate in order to achieve a significant reduction in energy consumption.

Within the building portfolio of the ÖWG – Wohnbau Genossenschaft (1,100 objects in total, approx. 16,000 apartments), only 20-30% of the existing buildings have currently been renovated in various forms.

The aim of the project is to create a comprehensive refurbishment concept for a pilot project of the ÖWG, which allows multiplication to the property portfolio of the ÖWG.

In addition, the processes within the ÖWG are to be defined for future renovation, portfolio expansion and densification projects.

For the renovation concept, the topic of climate neutrality and climate change adaptation is comprehensively examined including the following points:

• Decarbonization of heat and power supply including monitoring
• green and blue infrastructure
• Potential for redevelopment and simultaneous densification
• Material ecology
• economical use of soil as a resource
• Summer heat protection through construction and green infrastructure
• Mobility concept
• Life cycle considerations

In addition, the contact to the residents and between the residents will be rethought:

• Realignment of communication between property management and residents
• Climate protection at resident level (raising awareness, activation and knowledge building)
• Community facilities as an instrument to strengthen neighborhood networks (e.g. community rooms)

All these considerations should lead to a comprehensive and multipliable renovation concept, which should be sustainable and used further at ÖWG – Wohnbau Genossenschaft in future.