Nine projects have been shortlisted for this year's German Sustainability Award for Architecture. A large proportion of the selected construction projects involve the renovation and revitalisation of existing buildings across various usage categories. The projects, evaluated by an expert jury, are characterised by their focus on low-tech solutions and the reuse of materials. This year marks the fourteenth time the award has been presented by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) and the German Sustainability Award Foundation.
The finalists and the winning project will be announced on 21 October 2026 at the Sustainable Architecture Forum in Mannheim. Professor Amandus Samsøe Sattler, President of the DGNB and Chairman of the jury, commented on the relevance of sustainable architecture. He emphasised that it should not be seen as an end in itself, but rather as the result of a balance between qualities for users, architectural and urban planning aspects, responsible use of resources, and long-term economic viability. He noted that the nine nominated projects had all achieved this in their own individual and impressive ways, creating vibrant places for people to linger.
Among the nominated projects is the Moabiter Kinderhof in Berlin, which the jury recognised as exemplary for social inclusion. The children's and youth centre integrates five staggered wooden cubes and minimised surface sealing into the existing trees, offering diverse uses through differentiated indoor and outdoor spaces. The Josef-Schwarz-Schule in Heilbronn provides a solution for the challenges of dense, inner-city locations. Constructed using a timber-steel hybrid method, this property combines high-quality educational spaces, climate-adapted open areas, and an economical use of urban land. Its low-tech energy concept sets standards for future educational building.
The new fire station in Kaiserswerth, Düsseldorf, demonstrates the compatibility of security architecture, functionality, and sustainability. This building, constructed using a timber-hybrid method with a façade of regionally reused clinker bricks in a sensitive landscape context, serves as a model for a new generation of public buildings.
Three projects are also nominated in the housing sector. In Leipzig, the collaboratively supported housing project K10 was realised, integrating sufficiency, resilience, and circular economy principles. An energy-efficient low-tech timber building was constructed on a former brownfield site, consistently reusing building materials and featuring an adaptable construction system. The "House (almost) without heating" in Ingolstadt, built by a non-profit housing association, presents 15 residential units within a continuous building structure. It is considered a prototype for climate-friendly and affordable housing, whose planning follows the concept of sufficiency and promotes a return to simple building principles.
Another example is the energetic renovation and additional storey construction of the Gelber Block in Munich, built in 1927. This project illustrates a forward-looking refurbishment culture that develops existing stock and enables a dual inner-city development. By adding two full storeys, 45 accessible upper-floor flats were created, while the residential value of the 169 existing flats was significantly increased, maintaining comparatively low rents.
