Building & Living: Worth knowing from the industry

Making experiential knowledge from innovative practical projects accessible to others

Living labs make it possible to test new technologies, business models, or regulatory approaches under real-world conditions. With the Living Lab Innovation Portal, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) now offers a central platform for consultation, information, networking, and knowledge transfer on the topic of living labs and regulatory sandboxes. The goal: “to facilitate the practical implementation of living labs as well as knowledge transfer and regulatory learning.”

“We must be a creative lab to solve one of the greatest problems facing our country.”

Housing is not a luxury, but a social fundamental right that must not be determined by the market alone – this is one of the central messages in the kick-off speech of the new Federal Minister for Housing, Verena Hubertz. For her, housing construction is not only an economic stimulus, but a societal obligation: "I want housing to be a functioning market where it's not just the return on investment that counts. And as Minister for Housing, I want to ensure that housing remains affordable for everyone – from apprentices to pensioners."

Standardisation in the construction industry: opportunities, challenges, and the current need for action

A working group meeting at the acatech office in March was not only special because members of WG 1 and WG 3 (“Building materials, construction and energy” and “Transformation and implementation strategies”) met together for the first time. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Winter, co-lead of WG 1, opened the meeting with a brief introduction: in his role as Chairman of the DIN Standards Committee for Construction and member of the DIN Special Presidential Committee for Buildings (SPB), he gave an overview of the role of standardisation in construction and the current committee work within the context of DIN e. V.

Stakeholder advisory board meeting with special character

The fourth stakeholder advisory board meeting had a special character: As usual, the experts were first briefed by the acatech office on the current status of the project and the interim results of the working groups. Afterwards, the stakeholder advisory board members became active themselves – as participants in a Group Delphi.

Spring Report 2025

"Currently, residential construction in Germany is among the most expensive in international comparison," emphasizes the " Immobilienweisen Expert Panel” in its Spring Real Estate Industry Report 2025. Panel member Ralph Henger from the German Economic Institute (Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft, IW) highlights in the chapter "Residential Real Estate" various levers that could be adjusted to make building—and thus housing—more affordable again.

Sarah Dungs, Chairwoman of the Association for Building in Existing Contexts (Verband für Bauen im Bestand e.V.) and Managing Director of the Greyfield Group

Building in existing structures: seizing opportunities, overcoming challenges

"Our vision is to shift the real estate industry from new builds to existing buildings. We firmly believe that building in existing structures will become the new industry standard," says Sarah Dungs, Chairwoman of the Association for Building in Existing Contexts (Verband für Bauen im Bestand e.V.) and Managing Director of the Greyfield Group. During the webinar "Building in Existing Structures: Seizing Opportunities, Overcoming Challenges," she explained where CO₂ emissions originate in the construction industry, how resources can be conserved, and why a new mindset is essential for working with existing buildings.

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