Redevelopment as an Initial Spark

Interview with Karina Kaiser and Eberhard Ziegler

Your companies were pioneers in the demolition of vacant residential houses. When did it become obvious that demolition would be necessary?

Karina Kaiser: The demand for housing started to lag behind the supply in 1995. Just over two years later, we approached the ministry with the vacancy problem and demolished the first block in the Othaler Weg district in 1999.

Eberhard Ziegler: We followed suit immediately, as demand from SWG was also slumping. Since then, taking into account trend scenarios and from the point of view of the housing sector and urban development and also the technical infrastructure, we have aligned our decisions with the city to identify further demolitions.

But the problems are not solved simply by removing the empty houses.

Karina Kaiser: We realised this as time passed. It led to an Urban Development Concept and ultimately to participation in IBA Urban Redevelopment 2010. Due to demolitions and gentrification, SWG is now on a very solid economic foundation.

The cooperative and municipal housing firm are fighting for the same tenants and are therefore competitors.

Karina Kaiser: In a sense, yes. But on the other hand, we all have just this city. We therefore cooperate well in the steering committee. It also includes the public utilities firm, the special purpose associations for drinking water and sewage and naturally the city also, so that we are attempting to solve problems together.

How do the tenants respond to demolitions?

Eberhard Ziegler: Affected tenants are informed two years in advance that they will have to move out, and there is a move management facility. It is not cheap, but until now we have dealt with almost all moves smoothly. Based on the differentiated development in the districts, there are assets that will remain, others that can go and then some for which no decision has been made so far.

Karina Kaiser: It has proved best to put our cards on the table. There is a lot of understanding for necessities. Gentrification is part of the differentiated urban district development. As one of the IBA projects, the city has tackled gentrification of the listed monument housing estate from the nineteen fifties “Am Bergmann”.

Eberhard Ziegler: Although it is well-appointed, half of the undeveloped houses were vacant. The first stage of construction was completed at the end of 2009 and all of the apartments are occupied. This encourages us and confirms that we are on the right track with the three pillars upon which the Development Concept is based: in addition to gentrification of listed buildings, which also includes preserving the facade, we are investing in intergenerational accommodation and innovative energy management.

What does that mean?

Eberhard Ziegler: The ground floors house apartments for people with special needs, while the upper floor have barrier-free accommodation, all of it accessible by lift. This means that tenants with age-related mobility restrictions can continue living here. Faced with the development of energy prices, we are reducing the costs of heating and warm water by integrating solar power cells in the roof shell. In connection with the generous underfloor heating, the sun should be sufficient as a source of energy from February to November; there is gas heating to provide additional warmth in winter. Our plans so far have been the other way round: gas heating with auxiliary solar power. Redevelopment of “Bergmann” as a district centre should trigger a start for the entire surroundings.

IBA has brought about a remarkable cooperation between the housing and social sectors. What conclusions do you draw in general from the IBA participation?

Karina Kaiser: We cannot think exclusively about rentals. We have to consider how we can keep people in their apartments in the long-term, also when they are older. Meeting centres such as MIETZ on Othaler Weg and the meeting points in the WGS Generation House help with this.

Eberhard Ziegler: We used IBA as an opportunity to bring our housing assets up to scratch in a trendsetting and sustainable manner. And it offers the City of Sangerhausen the opportunity to raise public awareness because it attracts people here who would otherwise not have come.