HELLA Architecture Club enters its third round

The construction industry is facing its biggest crisis in decades. Rising construction costs, high interest rates, and stricter environmental regulations are influencing how architects and planners design and realize their projects. At the third HELLA Architecture Club on January 17 at the Vienna Ballhaus, Professor of Architecture Dipl.-Ing. Christoph M. Achammer (CEO of ATP architekten ingenieure), Daniel Riedl, FRICS (Member of the Executive Board of Vonovia SE) and Thomas Winkler, LL.M. (CEO of UBM Development AG) discussed the balancing act between creativity and cost explosions.

The HELLA Architecture Club is a forum for networking, exchange and inspiration for architects, developers and the specialized media. The third event in the series focussed on the current crisis in the construction industry and its impact on architecture. Around 60 invited guests accepted the invitation to the exciting expert talk.

In his opening statement, Prof Achammer was convinced that the construction crisis would in no way result in a crisis of creativity - on the contrary: "The crisis is a great opportunity for our industry, which has been working with 30 to 50 per cent waste for 100 years. Tight economic conditions do not lead to fewer creative projects, but rather produce more innovative products!"

Thomas Winkler from UBM also agreed: "Prototype construction has been around for 100 years. We need to standardize and modularize much more instead of always improvising!" He doesn't see any loss of creativity or aesthetics either: "Not all cars look the same just because they are mass-produced. Standardization and modularization are crucial when it comes to reducing costs and speeding up processes," says Winkler. "We all strive to create something beautiful - but it doesn't necessarily have to be expensive!"

Daniel Riedl from Vonovia referred to the issue of cost pressure, particularly in the area of residential construction, and argued in favour of designing floor plans more efficiently and considering more communal areas. "Well thought-out floor plans can significantly reduce the cost of flats. At the same time, communal areas promote the idea of social community and help to strengthen communities within a building or neighbourhood!"

Moderator Rainer Nowak (Head of the Economy, Domestic and Foreign Policy Department at Kronen Zeitung) also asked the panel of experts about new developments in digitalization and current requirements in the area of sustainability. When it came to digitalization, all panellists saw clear "room for improvement" in the industry, while sustainability is now firmly anchored in the strategy of many companies. "A property that is not ESG-compliant will no longer be valuable in ten years' time," said Thomas Winkler.

Andreas Kraler, Managing Partner of the HELLA Group, was delighted with the exciting discussion and the lively audience participation in the subsequent Q&A session: "Exchange promotes creativity and reveals new perspectives. Regular dialogue is therefore immensely important, especially in challenging times, in order to develop solutions together and pave the way for the time after the crisis - and that is sure to come!"

 
With the kind support of © HELLA