GLS Bank celebrates the topping-out ceremony for the woodscrapers in the Hellwinkel Terraces – Wolfsburg's first timber high-rise buildings with a social rental concept. The Lower Saxony Minister for Economic Affairs, Transport and Construction, Grant Hendrik Tonne, was also present.
8,000 square metres of living space, 106 residential units – these are the two woodscrapers in Wolfsburg. 45 per cent of the residential buildings are socially subsidised. The 12 residential floors in both buildings are made of timber construction: The residential floors consist of solid wood constructions for which prefabricated wooden elements are used.
Since the beginning of planning, GLS Bank and its partners have been pursuing a circular approach: The building materials of the two high-rise buildings can largely be dismantled and reused by type. The apartments themselves can be adapted to changing needs and living situations in the long term thanks to flexible and changeable floor plans. Thus, the woodscrapers offer living space for different generations, phases of life and families.
With the woodscrapers in Wolfsburg, GLS Bank is striving for affordable, sustainable housing with socially acceptable rents and stable ancillary costs. GLS Bank sees living not only as a place of retreat, but also as a space for community and encounters. A café on the ground floor of one of the high-rise buildings, a communal roof terrace and communal areas in the outdoor area create places for encounters and complement the living concept.
At the topping-out ceremony, Minister of Economic Affairs Tonne said: "The woodscrapers show how modern housing construction can work: with wood as a sustainable building material, with a high proportion of subsidised apartments and with a concept that focuses on recyclability and low energy consumption. Especially in growing and changing cities, we need such projects that combine affordable housing with new structural solutions. Wolfsburg is thus sending a strong signal for sustainable construction in Lower Saxony."
Christian Eickhoff, Managing Director of GLS Woodscraper GmbH & Co. KG, adds: "Our goal is to create socially just housing that is environmentally friendly and sustainable at the same time. With these two wooden high-rises, we want to give as many people as possible access to high-quality housing."
Wood, as a natural building material in the interior, creates a pleasant indoor climate thanks to its moisture-regulating properties. Only the stairwell is made of concrete for fire protection reasons.
Renewable energies such as geothermal energy and photovoltaics ensure an efficient, pollutant-free and low-emission energy supply. Retention green roofs and the EH-40 efficiency house standard complement the ecological and energy concept. Efficient rainwater and drainage management regulates water consumption: excess rainwater is collected in a cistern and used to irrigate the outdoor facilities.
Anyone interested in an apartment can contact vermietung.woodscraper@g-i-p.com by e-mail.
The topping-out ceremony was attended by: Lower Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs, Transport and Construction, Grant Hendrik Tonne; Kai-Uwe Hirschheide, city planning councillor, representatives of the banks DZ HYP and NBank, which are co-financing the project; the two architects Jörg Finkbeiner and Klaus Günter from Partner und Partner Architektur, Sven Schmittbüttner from the Krebs Group as the client's representative, and Phillip Heidemann from KVL Bauconsult GmbH, which is responsible for project management. Statements from those involved in the project can be found in the document "Quotes Groundbreaking Woodscraper".
