BUWOG hands over apartments to the real estate company

BUWOG has handed over 48 subsidised apartments to the state-owned Berlin real estate company HOWOGE. These residential units are part of an extensive BUWOG construction project on the site of the former Geyer-Werke AG on Neukölln’s Harzer Strasse.

A crucial step towards more affordable housing in Berlin: BUWOG is planning around 220 new apartments and four new commercial units, including a daycare centre, at the site on Harzer Strasse in the listed buildings of the former Geyer-Werke AG in Berlin-Neukölln. In the initial construction phase, private project developer BUWOG has built and handed over 48 subsidised rental apartments to the state-owned real estate company HOWOGE. The two- to four-room apartments ranging from 59 to 99 square metres are intended for persons having a social housing eligibility certificate (Wohnberechtigungesschein, WBS) and can be rented from HOWOGE as of now.

Modular construction method and barrier-free living

The new apartments were built using a modular construction method in which prefabricated concrete elements only had to be assembled on site on Harzer Strasse. This meant, for example, that it was possible to integrate the wiring for building services into the walls at the factory. The windows and sun protection were also pre-assembled. This construction method enabled a significantly shorter construction time. BUWOG Managing Director Eva Weiß: “We are proud that we were able to build modularly here for the first time in Berlin. This allowed us to carry out the construction project quickly and celebrate the topping out after just nine months.” Following a total construction period of 16 months, the apartments are now ready for occupancy.

42 of the 48 apartments are barrier-free and six of them are specially designed for wheelchair users. The six-storey building complies with the KfW 55 standard, which means that it consumes only 55 percent of the primary energy of a reference building. The building is heated with environmentally friendly district heating. The photovoltaic system installed on the rooftop generates electricity using the tenant electricity model.

Quality of life in an urban environment

View of the balcony of the BUWOG new-build project in Berlin — Nearly every apartment has a balcony or terrace

Nearly all of the apartments with underfloor heating have a balcony or terrace. The landscaped interior courtyard featuring new trees offers even more of an appealing atmosphere. Residents also have 152 bicycle parking spaces at their disposal.

The historic buildings of the former Geyer-Werke AG on the site are listed buildings and have been refurbished for commercial units. They were built between 1927 and 1928 in the New Objectivity style by Swiss architect Otto Rudolf Salvisberg and served as the headquarters of the Geyer-Werke AG film copying company, the oldest film technology service provider in Germany. Many well-known cinema films were edited at this location, such as the film “Run Lola Run”, “Sissi” and “The Lives of Others”.

“We are proud that we were able to build modularly here for the first time in Berlin. This allowed us to carry out the construction project quickly and celebrate the topping out after just nine months.”