In our series “BUWOG up close and personal”, we introduce people who are working on current BUWOG projects and on issues that pertain to the future. They are all united by the aim of bringing BUWOG’s slogan of “happy living” to life. We talk with Martin Petermann, head of the Architecture + Building Strategy department at BUWOG.
“It’s a wide-ranging field of responsibilities and issues – but that’s what makes it so exciting.”
What is your responsibility at BUWOG?
Martin Petermann: “At BUWOG, I have the marvellous and exciting responsibility of managing the department of Architecture + Building Strategy and shaping it together with my team. Since 2022, we’ve grown into a Germany-wide department, and this year we’ve added four colleagues to the construction cost management team led by Friedrich von Salmuth. In addition to traditional architectural services, our task is to improve transparency in the planning and construction process overall. The additional personnel in this area are also quite advantageous for this.”
How did you come to your current position, and what training and skills are needed to fill it?
Martin Petermann: After completing my studies, I worked in an architectural firm, where I was involved in every project phase. I was then self-employed as an architect for a number of years, which honed my entrepreneurial thinking. For family reasons, I then accepted a position as team leader for planning at a general contractor in 2012. In 2016, I started as a project manager at Vonovia in the fledgling department for new construction and became team leader for project development in the West and Southeast regions in 2017, until I started the planning department in 2019. To manage a department specialising in architecture, it’s certainly an advantage to be an architect yourself. Training is one thing, but in my experience, professional experience is more important. In my view, it is essential to work together with one’s team transparently and as equals in order to realise the full potential and create a positive working environment based on trust.”
What are the typical responsibilities in your area of activity?
Martin Petermann: “Architectural planning in service phases 1-5 is naturally one of our specialisations. We work on projects either entirely or in parts of these service phases. Thus on the one hand, we are classic planning architects. We are also the “planning fire brigade”, for example when special challenges arise in collaboration with external architectural firms. On the other hand, as a central department, we have a large number of overarching responsibilities: we are responsible for the planning guidelines; we are currently setting up the DE modular system, a digital sampling system; and we act as a central point of contact for planning and technical issues in cooperation with third parties. With Gropyus, for example, our aim is to promote the issue of serial construction.
Furthermore, we check the plausibility and quality of external architectural plans, HVAC plans and the costs presented. We analyse BUWOG’s data on construction costs in order to generate cost optimisations in the planning phases. Overall, digitalisation plays a major role for us. This is reflected in new planning tools, which we are testing and integrating into an integral planning process. In this context, we merge with the topic of BIM (Building Information Modelling), and we are leading the way in this respect. As you can see, it’s a wide-ranging field of responsibilities and issues – but that’s what also what makes it so exciting.”
What are the challenges and opportunities in your area of activity?
Martin Petermann: “One challenge is certainly that, as a special department within a project developer, there’s always a bit of explaining you have to do. But the more projects we positively support as a department within BUWOG, the less the question of internal planning arises. We are of course much more flexible than an externally commissioned office, which also pursues its own interests. We are aware of the issues relevant to BUWOG in neighbourhood development and new construction and can actively and very quickly respond to them in our work. The advantage of an internal planning and construction strategy department is also that you have the same mindset. And besides a smoother and more transparent process, the experience gained cannot be valued highly enough, to be honest. This knowledge is channelled back into BUWOG’s processes and procedures and prevents errors in the future. And everything that we can correct in time during the planning phase of new projects saves money.”
Sustainability is a top priority in planning and construction at BUWOG. How is this reflected in your department?
Martin Petermann: “The issue is extremely important to us! In addition to the sustainability of building materials and the decarbonisation of energy generation, sustainable social issues are also planning challenges for us. The subject of timber construction plays an important role, but must always be assessed on a project-specific basis: How feasible are the costs? Do we build in hybrid construction or solid wood? Who can safely plan specific new construction methods and execute them on site? Are there advantages of conventional construction methods that can be used in a project or how can they be integrated in favour of durability or fault tolerance? The layout of the apartments is also a question of social sustainability. It is important to create a mix of housing within a development so that a variety of housing options are available. At the same time, apartments must be designed in such a way that they cater for the phases of life and different housing needs of people over the years. The issue of use-neutral floor plans plays a role here. We have two people in our department who deal intensively with the complex issue of sustainability and contribute the latest findings.”
What do you think – What will our housing look like in the future?
Martin Petermann: “That’s not an easy question! The market is currently in a state of flux. What was true yesterday is no longer true today. Residential space is being used increasingly to work from home, and the desire for more space and rooms is growing commensurately. On the other hand, construction costs are rising, which increases the demand for smaller, affordable apartments. We are also caught between the conflicting priorities of construction costs and the need for sustainability, which makes the realisation of projects challenging. One thing is clear: in the future, even more people will live in cities and urbanisation will continue. The consumption of space will have to decline from the current level of around 46 square metres per person and we will have to build more compactly. Perhaps the tiny house concept is a solution for multi-level housing. These could also be explained as “pocket-knife apartments”, in which all of the functions and uses are enabled intelligently, with clever floor plans and fixtures on just a few square metres. One opportunity is to plan communal areas that can be flexibly used, thus communalising a greater number of uses and putting only the essentials in the private rooms.”
Happy living: What does BUWOG’s slogan mean for you quite personally?
Martin Petermann: “For me, happy living means having a place that is not only functional, but also emotionally fulfilling. This includes a sense of comfort and cosiness, and that my home suits my personality and life situation. But it’s also a place where I can get away from it all and unwind, and ideally in a neighbourhood where I might also have friends and family nearby. In short: If I really feel at home, then I’m happy living there.”
Movie: Current BUWOG projects in Germany
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