Andreas Rieger (AR): From my many years of political and professional work, I see public participation in the building and housing sector as the central building block for climate-friendly and sustainable planning and construction. We have developed this building block as a standalone contribution to the adopted Brandenburg Climate Plan. From the point of view of both chambers of architects, it is clear that planning and building in the capital region Berlin-Brandenburg must be developed jointly by both states. With this in mind, in order to implement the joint state development plan across the different municipalities, we are proposing an event on building culture that is a reworking of a well-known concept: an international building (culture) exhibition.

AR: And there’s more: The construction and housing sector is the main driver of the environmental and climate crisis and the primary cause of emissions due to the extraction, processing, transport and installation of building materials and components, the operation and maintenance of the buildings and structures made from them, as well as their demolition and disposal (see Schellnhuber/Sobek, Konvent der Baukultur – Building Culture Convention).
The Brandenburg Chamber of Architects is calling for appropriate planning procedures and a legal and economic framework for climate-friendly planning and building. Municipalities and municipal housing associations, as well as private developers, need to be motivated and qualified to implement climate-friendly and resource-efficient planning and construction processes in their day-to-day work. The building codes and technical building regulations introduced should be put to the test. The German states need to lead the way here in their own construction efforts.

AR: The Brandenburg Chamber of Architects represents its members, their interests throughout Brandenburg and the recognized challenges of building and housing in general. And – along with the Berlin Chamber of Architects – we also represent the common interests of the capital region. In my view, a council of experts can be considered successful if it is able to bring the challenges of climate-friendly planning and building to the municipal level, i.e. to the cities and communities in Brandenburg and to Berlin’s districts.

The interview was conducted in October 2022.