Building

Alternative ways of dealing with land to promote sustainable social-ecological forms of living and a co-existence in solidarity are among the specialties of the foundation trias, located in Hattingen an der Ruhr. On a recent visit, a delegation of the Goethe-Institut from Canada and Mexico got an idea of its work.

Besides the classic forms of private provision, given the demographic development in Germany, creative solutions for independent forms of interpersonal help are highly popular. Most ideas naturally revolve round real estate property, which is in Germany traditionally one of the investments of most stable value. To care for each other, to buy a house together, to renovate one or build one – that sounds like a good idea. But for people without assets – whether old people, single parents, disabled people or people with low income – this generally remains a pipe dream. The foundation is committed to initiating and promoting public interest and ecological living and building projects.

 “Our society is changing”, states the trias Foundation programme, "family relationship are dissolving, society is aging, population decreasing. Neighbourly contact and joint action have become a rarity, while the number of single households grows. Our consumption of resources such as land, energy and raw materials is steadily rising and at the expense of future generations. We must implement ecological ways of life in the home, according to the motto: “think globally – act locally”. Our form of living influences the way we deal with land, our daily contacts and our consumption of resources”.

“Our capital of trust is our projects“ – An Interview with Rolf Novy-Huy

Mr Novy-Huy, who is behind the Foundation?

We don’t have big donors, but rather about seventy small ones, mainly from social professions: teachers, therapists, social workers, theologians. I sometimes call us a specialised citizens foundation, which appeals to people across all walks of life. Unlike a one-time donation, the donated money develops its own fascinating momentum through investment and returns. Our capital of trust is our projects: today an old school, tomorrow an artists’ colony, the day after tomorrow an old farm. And so many people have come to realise that they don’t have to wait until they are dead before they can do something good with their money.

Priorities of the Foundation are residential projects, building groups and multi-generational housing. What exactly are these?

The demographic decline and ageing of the population is raising more and more the question of the future of dwelling. One answer is undoubtedly that people organise themselves into groups, whether for idealistic purposes of mutual assistance and sharing resources – household appliances, tools, food cooperatives, car sharing and such – or for utilitarian purposes such as building groups so as together to build a house less expensively. Though with building groups it’s less a matter of a residential project, because this requires a good deal of idealism and it may take years before the necessary social structure has developed.

And what part does the Foundation play here?

The Foundation seeks to improve the working conditions for such groups, which almost always consist of amateurs. Since we lack the personnel and finances to provide consultants, we mainly help by making available work resources, brochures and a broad-based information offering for project consultants. A more active, that is, a financial, engagement isn’t possible for a non-profit foundation. Unless, that is, it concerns a project for people with health problems. For example, we’re currently in touch with a group in Schleswig-Holstein that wants to move severely disabled children into family-like associations in a house for purposes of care. This is obviously a residential project in pure form, which the Foundation can support with no ifs, ands or buts – also with money!

You live yourself in such a residential group.

That’s right, since December. It’s a multi-generational project with fourteen residential units and twenty-two people. Everybody is represented – from a newborn baby to an 82 years old senior citizen. A very good mix, and mutual assistance is right at the top of our priorities: “I won’t be here tomorrow – could you let the handymen in?” Recently a washing machine broke down: “Why buy a new one, we have thirteen others?” Unofficially, we also have car sharing. But this isn’t a project of the trias Foundation; it’s one of the local Housing Cooperative as part of the modernising of the southern part of Hattingen. We viewed it with the visitors delegation from the Goethe-Institut. I was engaged only privately with my know-how as a project consultant.

This is a good example of how Housing Associations have now recognised the signs of the times. Especially in areas with declining populations such as the Ruhr this is just now really beginning. In our case, the Association has fully rented fourteen flats, and it knows that it has reliable and committed tenants.

The modernisation in southern Hattingen is an exemplary model project.

The southern part of the city is a neighbourhood that was knocked up in the 1950s for steel workers from the Thyssen factory, a homogeneous building area with about 1,000 flats, which has come down considerably in recent decades. Given the declining population, the alternative was either to modernise significantly with lots of money or else to pull it down. The Housing Association plumped for modernising. The unusual thing about it is that they’re not make do with a little energy restructuring and new bathrooms, but have diversified the ground plan with the aim of creating as much barrier-free living space adapted to the needs of older people as possible. Above all, the buildings are not only being refurbished on a sustainable basis, but also partly being transformed, with a very considerable investment, into zero-energy houses – something that is probably unique in Germany with such old buildings.