Green Building in Germany

According to an estimate by the Architekturexport network, five per cent of German architects’ offices are active abroad and generate an average of ten per cent of their revenue from this. It is primarily the large offices that make the headlines with prestige projects in China or the Arab Emirates. But small and medium-sized communities of architects and engineers have also been planning and building at an international level for a long time.

The initial contact with their clients often comes about by chance, when travelling or at trade conferences. And the local context frequently plays a particularly important role for their designs: four offices and their project sites in Abu Dhabi, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Chile and Rwanda.



The Berlin-based architects’/engineers’ office Ziegert Roswag Seiler converted the historic Al Jahili Fort, which is built of earth, into a museum. The client, Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, came to the opening ceremony with a large entourage and four camels, and the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (German Architecture Museum) in Frankfurt honoured the fort in the oasis with the prize for one of the 26 best buildings in/from Germany 2009.

Sustainable building techniques

Architect Eike Roswag and structural engineers Christof Ziegert and Uwe Seiler are famous and in demand worldwide for their expertise in rammed earth construction. They are currently implementing their next project in Abu Dhabi, a luxurious earth-built restaurant.

“We provide efficient solutions that treat resources responsibly and serve the user in a lasting and cost-effective way, a figure of dignity.” That’s how the trio describes their professional self-image. Be it in Germany or elsewhere: it’s about an approach to work that develops sustainable construction techniques and forms with respect for what is already there, and about buildings that are ecologically, socially and economically appropriate.

This ethos becomes particularly apparent in the school that Eike Roswag created together with architect Anna Heringer in 2005 in Rudrapur/Bangladesh. The ground floor has thick walls of rammed earth, the upper level is made of bamboo. This means that the usual local materials are being used. But the architects have made technical improvements to the traditional building method, for instance innovative, lower-maintenance joins for bamboo are used. “School Handmade” was built in collaboration with local craftsmen. The children and teachers made all the cobs for the door and window lintels, and were therefore also involved in the project.

Active cooperation with the locals

Teamwork also plays an important role for architect Diébédo Francis Kéré. He originates from Burkina Faso and studied in Germany. He runs his office in Berlin and oversees construction projects in Yemen, India, Spain and his native country. He is particularly involved in the building of schools there. “There’s no point in just building a house”, he says (in the interview volume Bessere Zukunft? Auf der Suche nach den Räumen von Morgen (A better future? In search of the rooms of tomorrow), Merve Verlag, 2008). His experience: development projects can only achieve economic and cultural (architectural) sustainability if the local people have the chance to collaborate actively in the project. Kéré has also proved with his school buildings that the traditional building material of earth is highly suitable for buildings with a particularly good-quality indoor climate, if it is processed according to new construction principles.

The “Elemental Project” is the name of Ralf Pasel and Frederik Künzel’s answer to the affordable housing question. The German architect duo, who have an office in Rotterdam, succeeded in creating an estate of up to 414 houses from a crime-ridden ghetto in Temuco/Chile. The basis of their master plan was intensive interaction with the residents. The backbone of the estate is three-storey service units (1.20 metres wide and 8 metres deep), containing stairs, a small bathroom as well as all utilities. These basic units are erected at 3-metre intervals, they function independently and are lockable. So they can be used immediately. If required, residents can extend their home themselves: if a ceiling structure is suspended between two service units and two façades are added, 30 square metres of accommodation is the result.

Investments instead of development aid

While low-budget housing is being constructed in Temuco, in Kigali it’s a matter of a 230 million dollar project. In Rwanda’s capital, Munich-based architect and general planner Roland Dieterle is building a conference centre and museum with a team of expert planners. As well as this a luxury hotel complex is being built on Lake Kivu in the west of the country. Following the example of Dubai and Singapore, the government of Rwanda wants to turn the country into the service hub of East Africa, create a good climate for investment and develop the service sector. Contact with the architect from Munich was made during a conference in Dubai. Dieterle is relying on “Investments instead of development aid” and also produces marketing films for both projects, which are being implemented with investors from Africa and China and a Chinese construction company. The buildings’ expression of colour and form is based on the colours and materials typical of the country. Other than that the local people have little to do with the project. For the moment at least. Dieterle refers to the public town square at the congress centre that is accessible to everyone, the integrated museum that is concerned with the country’s history, and above all to the jobs that are to be created with the running of the centre.

Architects who risk the step across the border open up new markets, different cultures and the chance to put unusual projects into practice. A key success criterion in this is productive dialogue with clients and users.