Construction and Refurbishment

We focus on revitalising urban sites (brownfield projects) in order to conserve undeveloped land. Projects in cities such as Hanau and Berlin show how we transform sealed industrial areas into green residential neighbourhoods – for example through large-scale unsealing measures at Münsterberger Weg.

In parallel, we are driving digitalisation by applying the Building Information Modelling (BIM) method across countries. A uniform Group strategy links our German and Austrian units to better coordinate planning and construction processes and make the use of resources more transparent.

In the Development segment, defined environmental and climate protection aspects are embedded as a standard process in project planning. Dedicated tools ensure that, for new-build projects, topics such as energy demand, land sealing, greening and rainwater management are taken into account from the initial planning stage through to subsequent monitoring and are documented in the project standards.

In our new-build and conversion projects, we examine how to limit the use of new, energy- and resource-intensive materials. We increasingly rely on building materials that can be reused or recycled and whose material properties are documented over their life cycle. At all stages of our construction projects, we take into account requirements for raw material selection, production processes and construction methods that are designed to make the use of materials plannable and to keep material flows traceable.

The circularity of materials is playing an increasingly important role. Our objective is to select and combine building products in such a way that components can be dismantled and materials used in further applications or recovered as raw materials. Construction methods such as timber modular or hybrid structures facilitate subsequent dismantling and enable load-bearing systems that can be designed for limited energy demand and defined emissions profiles.

Life cycle analyses are already used at the planning stage to assess the greenhouse-gas-related emissions of building materials across manufacturing, use and end-of-life. In addition, we design use-neutral floor plans that allow flexible adaptations – for example, the conversion of apartments for alternative uses. Our life cycle, overall-mass circularity tool (ÖBIGK) supports the early assessment of material quantities and the potential for reuse and recycling in line with ISO 20887.

With the Construction Contest, Vonovia and BUWOG joined forces in 2024 with start-ups and companies from the DACH region to identify new construction solutions that combine lower resource use with competitive costs. Around 100 companies submitted ideas for building materials, constructions and production techniques, particularly for prefabrication and modular construction methods. A panel of experts from industry and research selected, among others, load-bearing clay bricks, a drywall system made from straw, aerogel insulation materials and “climate-positive” precast concrete elements with an emissions profile that differs from conventional products. The award-winning solutions are now being assessed for potential use in BUWOG construction projects. More information on the Construction Contest is available here.

Vonovia also promotes innovation in construction through the “Perspectives on the Future of Construction” dialogue process. Since 2022, this initiative has been bringing together stakeholders from industry, research and politics to develop approaches to construction methods that address greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption. Working groups with industry experts and the Fraunhofer Institute have developed concrete courses of action, which are being translated into measures and targets and also provide input for shaping the political framework.

Mobility offerings are another key component of our development approach. In our projects, we place importance on providing diverse, easily accessible options that cater to different mobility needs. One example is the completion of the Helio Tower in the “The Marks” urban development area in Vienna. It features a cross-site bicycle arcade with space for 2,000 bicycles, 652 of which are designated for the Helio Tower. On average, 1.8 bicycle parking spaces were available for each newly built apartment.

In addition, a car-sharing scheme with electric vehicles, city bikes and electric cargo bikes is available. The BUWOG garage area also offers up to 27 electric charging stations with load management. On average, our new-build projects completed in the reporting year are located around a four-minute walk from public transport, ensuring that these mobility options are easy to reach.