Low-Energy Housing in Haulander Weg

A wide range of different residential formats and business spaces, low-water-consumption sewage disposal, smart rainwater management and 100% supply of energy from renewable sources – Haulander Weg low-energy housing, one of Hamburg’s flagship environmental projects, was planned to be built on the southern rim of the park hosting the International Garden Show Hamburg 2013.

The Solar Engineering exhibition puts Wilhelmsburg as a location for environmentally compatible construction on the map. The “Haulander Weg Low-Energy Housing” project is now continuing the good work – an urban neighbourhood featuring some 350 homes is intended to form the southern periphery of the igs Park – built in compliance with the latest climate-compatible construction standards. Therefore IBA Hamburg’s largest cohesive residential construction project is at the same time one of Hamburg’s largest environmentally-compatible housing estates. Planning work commenced at the beginning of 2008. Project development work was put on ice in 2010 because these homes can only be built in this location once Wilhelmsburg’s Reichstraße has been diverted.

The planning objective is to achieve the greatest possible mix of different residential formats, complemented by commercial applications to complete the area bordered by Georg-Wilhelm-Straße. Particular features of this location are the “Wettern”, the typical drainage ditches or French drains found in the marshland surrounding Hamburg. They will characterise the new neighbourhood and will be used for both leisure activities and surface water drainage applications.

Detailed implementation of this urban development concept is based on the premise that this low-energy housing is designed to model and field-test urban infrastructure of the future. The use of solar thermal energy, photovoltaic, biomass and geothermal energy sources as well as high energy-efficient construction standards are important components in ensuring carbon-neutral energy supply to the area.

A comprehensive “water challenge” solution, which factors in climate change, completes these plans. Low-water-consumption sewage disposal ensures that less clean water finds its way into the sewage loop. Sewage treatment plants could therefore be used more efficiently to treat sewage. Furthermore grey and black water separation as well as purification, storage and use of rainwater are designed to ensure smart management of water resources.