Hamburg hosted the second Innovation Forum "New Building – 80 Seconds", organised, among others, by the dena Competence Centre for Serial Renovation / Energiesprong DE and VELUX in Hamburg. The event, held under the patronage of First Mayor Dr. Peter Tschentscher, gathered decision-makers from the construction and housing industries, municipal representatives, and political actors. The focus was on discussing concrete implementation strategies for innovations in the construction sector, not merely visionary concepts. The solutions presented reflected a wide range of approaches, from industrial timber construction techniques and digital planning methods to new financing models.
Dr. Peter Tschentscher emphasised the importance of fast, affordable, and climate-friendly construction for the growing city of Hamburg. He highlighted that the city is pursuing ambitious climate protection goals and that the "Hamburg Standard" was developed in cooperation with the construction and real estate industries to reduce building costs through cost-conscious planning and construction. This is essential for affordable housing and achieving affordable rents. Additionally, he explained that a revised building code and the digitisation of planning and approval processes contribute to acceleration and simplification.
Innovative Solutions for More Efficient Construction
Eleven companies nominated by the independent advisory board presented their market-ready solutions across three categories. In the "Faster Building" category, Blome impressed with a method for serial renovation of bathrooms and risers while occupied. Other approaches included a modular timber-hybrid building system by urban beta, Wienerberger's mobile masonry robot, and an AI-supported drone solution by FlyNex for inventory assessment.
For "More Affordable Building", Elements Immobilien was awarded for increasing the value of existing properties through the energy-efficient conversion of attics. In addition, RoofUz and DEPACT presented platforms that connect buildings and partners for renovations and roof extensions. Plan4 Software showcased a fully digital building survey that replaces manual processes.
In the "Climate-Neutral Building and Renovation" segment, contributions covered materials, energy, and data. Rheinzink presented a recyclable click-strip system for roofs and facades. Superwood showcased durable timber facades. SmaWo was recognised by the audience for its concept of making every apartment self-sufficient with its own PV system including storage. LeafTech visualises urban districts as digital 3D twins to plan their decarbonisation. Further contributions from BIMETO for digital building twins using laser scans and Protektorwerk Florenz Maisch for scalable serial construction underscored the diversity of innovations.
Shared Responsibility for Scaling Innovations
- —The building sector is responsible for a third of Germany's CO₂ emissions and is undergoing a comparatively slow transformation.
- —Nico Gorsler from the dena Competence Centre emphasises that serial renovation is not a question of "whether" but "how fast", as the technologies are proven.
- —Process optimisation through standardised interfaces and consistently digital planning is identified as a decisive factor for scaling.
- —Silke Stehr, Managing Director of VELUX Germany, underlined the shared responsibility of all stakeholders to develop solutions and approaches that extend beyond their own companies.
A key outcome of the forum was not merely the presentations, but the subsequent matchmaking, where housing companies and project developers directly contacted providers to initiate initial collaborations. Franziska Lamping from Kathe Holzbau demonstrated with her projects how serial timber construction approaches can be economically and ecologically successful under real-world conditions. The day's insight is that the necessary skills and technologies are available, and the focus is now on scaling these innovations to achieve climate targets in the construction segment.
