In the name of climate change, settlement by settlement is currently being completely renovated or razed to the ground in order to build supposedly more ecological replacement constructions. Socially, this is anything but sustainable, because as a result of these renovations, the houses are usually vacated, which leads to large-scale processes of suppression. Affected tenants often face existential emergencies and our cities are increasingly segregating. Such radical innovations are also often questionable from an ecological point of view (> see below).
There would be another way: We could renovate and compact residential buildings in such a way that a large part of the building fabric is preserved or reused, and we could plan this in such a way that residents do not have to move out at all or only briefly and do not have to fear excessive rent increases. One of the key factors here is a clever phasing of the project, especially in the case of larger houses/settlements: i.e. a procedure in which house by house or shaft by shaft is renewed. This is also provided by the City of Zurich's working aid for “socio-spatial aspects of planning and construction.”
Nonprofit property developers often follow this procedure and have a wealth of experience. But recently, profit-oriented developers have also discovered this strategy for themselves. Examples include Telli Aarau (AXA Winterthur), where almost 600 apartments were renovated over 3 years in a such a way that the residents only had to move within the settlement once or move out for 2 weeks. Or the Frohburg settlement in Zurich (Helvetia Insurance), where replacement constructions will be built, but probably in such a way that enough inexpensive apartments will be built in the first stage so that almost all previous residents can still move in there before the start of the second construction phase.
However, in order for a staging to effectively contribute to the sustainability of a construction project, very specific know-how is required — for example on the following questions: How do you design appropriate construction and planning processes? How do you know which floor plans and which standard must be built in the first stages? How do you communicate with tenants and create trust? Are there suitable forms of participation to accompany this process? What hurdles and hardships do you have to prepare for? Which occupancy requirements or rent models, relocation assistance or storage options can be a suitable addition?...
This know-how is currently spread across a few experts or non-profit building associations. It is exchanged primarily personally or in the “Socio-Ecological Construction Transition” working group (co-founded by us) since 2023 in a more exclusive setting. However, from most builders we continue to hear that the need to further develop their residential property in a socially responsible manner makes it difficult for them to find appropriate planners at all, or that their property management is waving away from the outset: this is unfortunately not feasible. The reason for this is that know-how and experience are lacking almost everywhere.
We want to change that! We want deepen the topic Staging, study current good practices, conduct interviews with the few experts who have in-depth knowledge, and then process and make available the necessary knowledge to a wider audience of experts. This output will also include practical tools such as directly applicable checklists or templates. We will disseminate the learnings via Casafair channels, among others.
It is also possible to develop seminars/lectures as part of architecture/innovation management training courses, courses for Casafair members, arguments and appropriate campaigns to lobby for socially responsible continued construction or even certification of socially responsible (re) construction projects.