In 2021, construction work began on the new neighbourhood on Preußenstrasse - now renamed Johanna-Scharsewinkel-Strasse - in Lünen with 78 barrier-free flats and a centre for comprehensive healthcare services as well as a further 9 flats. The project, which will be fully occupied by mid-2023, is a significant milestone in the Bauverein's 110-year history. This is because it is part of the plan to make its entire portfolio of around 6,000 flats climate-neutral by 2045. Bauverein zu Lünen (www.bauverein.de) has been relying on products and services from Ideal Standard for a number of years, particularly in new builds, as part of its standardised bathroom fittings. In this case, in addition to economic and aesthetic aspects, certain technologies from Ideal Standard for conserving resources are proving to be an ideal addition for the neighbourhood, which is designed to reduce fresh water and heating energy consumption, among other things.

When Bauverein zu Lünen began planning the development of the former colliery site in 2019 and went public with the project, there were already more interested parties on the waiting list than the 78 flats available, recalls Oliver Wächter, construction manager in the New Construction department at Bauverein zu Lünen. By mid-2023, all 78 privately financed and subsidised flats in the Preußenstraße neighbourhood had been handed over to the tenants. They now live as co-owners for life in the model of the public housing cooperative in a neighbourhood that, according to Wächter, will not only last for generations, but also contribute to the development of the Horstmar district. ‘One of the cornerstones of the planning was to design the new housing stock in such a way that the available building space is utilised as effectively as possible. This can be achieved more economically by converting a brownfield or industrial site on a large scale than by building on small plots,’ explains the construction manager. With this strategy, Bauverein zu Lünen aims to tackle one of the major problems facing society: the creation of new and, above all, affordable housing for as broad a section of the population as possible. For this reason, the 78 flats are designed to use as little traffic space as possible in favour of usable space and offer scope for a variety of lifestyles, from singles to families. And in affordable sizes ranging from 67 m² to penthouses with 110 m² in a mix of privately financed and subsidised flats. Wächter emphasises the importance of the uniform and comparatively high standard of furnishings for rental housing. This is because Bauverein Lünen is thinking in the long term and for generations to come. The flats should therefore be attractive enough to be offered as privately financed flats once the subsidy expires - and vice versa. All flats are barrier-free.

Design as a trademark

The development is divided into seven houses plus a residential and commercial building. This replaces the former colliery administration building. As a testimony to mining in the region, one façade was left standing and structurally connected to the new residential and commercial building. A pharmacy, a dentist, a physiotherapy practice, a general medical practice and a residential group run by a social welfare organisation have now moved in. Seven flats in one building were sold as owner-occupied flats. Buildings six and five each have nine subsidised flats and two privately financed flats. The other four houses each have ten privately financed flats. The houses hardly differ in terms of architectural style. Only the house with owner-occupied flats has a different façade and slightly different roof shapes. Overall, light-coloured clinker brickwork in a small-format combination with design elements around the windows creates a uniform appearance.

The apartments' interiors, including the bathrooms, are largely uniform in design and technical features. The predominant colors—as in the exterior and on the facades—are white, sand, and beige. The floors, which feature underfloor heating, are covered with vinyl flooring in a wood look. The bathrooms, featuring wood-look floor tiles, follow this design. The walls are tiled all the way around and decorated with a stainless steel rail and a beige natural stone mosaic. Ceiling lighting with LED spotlights is also standard. The bathrooms in 50 apartments each have a bathtub and shower. This was not possible in only two apartments due to structural reasons. "With this, too, we want to offer as many options as possible, making it easy to choose an apartment.

Singular support process for standardised standard bathroom

The Bauverein developed bathroom design and fittings as a uniform standard for new builds and renovations. As part of this standardisation, Bauverein zu Lünen has valued its collaboration with Ideal Standard for many years. Construction manager Oliver Wächter comments: ‘With Ideal Standard, we have a contact person for all questions and a very good, reliable partner at our side. And with a product range that also meets our needs economically and covers all our requirements without having to split up between different suppliers.’ The fact that this is so noticeable is due to the strategy that Ideal Standard calls ‘Singular’: Singular is the entire specification, project and design service in one. A simple, flexible process that means Ideal Standard customers only need one supplier and one point of contact. This also pays off in terms of long-term maintenance, explains Wächter.

What the residents in the Preußenstraße neighbourhood will see is a complete bathroom suite that is a combination of the following Ideal Standard ranges: washbasins in the bathrooms and guest WCs are from the higher-quality Strada II range in combination with the Edge slim mixer tap. WCs are all from the Connect series in the version with particularly effective AquaBlade flush technology. The acrylic bath from the Connect Air range shines with the Joy mixer tap. The Ceratherm T100 thermostat with clip-on shelf forms a convenient unit in the showers with the Ideal Rain Evo hand shower system. And all the accessories, from the towel rail to the paper roll holder, are from the IOM series. All showers are installed flush with the floor. Some of the showers have a tiled floor. The showers in the owner-occupied and privately financed flats are fitted with Ultra Flat S shower trays. A special surface coating makes the shower trays easier to clean.

Environmental technology and design perfection

What makes the Preußenstrasse neighbourhood so pioneering, however, is its environmental technology. ‘With the aim of achieving climate neutrality, we operate new buildings such as those on Preußenstrasse with living space ventilation and heat recovery and we use heat pumps. This is one of the ways we try to minimise the so-called second rent, the ancillary costs,’ comments Oliver Wächter. Another aspect of sustainability, which is becoming increasingly important in view of the drought summers and heavy rainfall, concerns the use of service and rainwater. The design of the outdoor area also comes into play in this context. Here, the building association placed great emphasis on curved, park-like paths instead of the usual straight and direct connecting paths, as well as plenty of planting. The green areas also serve primarily as infiltration areas for rainwater.

In addition, rainwater is channelled into three underground cisterns of 20 m³ each for garden irrigation. All other rainwater is channelled into infiltration troughs, which will also feed Lake Horstmacher in Lünen in future. Another special feature concerns the service water. In houses three and four, a research project is underway with a Fraunhofer Institute: ‘In house three, we collect the shower water in the flats and run it through a heat exchanger in the basement so that the residual energy and heat for heating can be recovered from the shower water,’ explains Wächter. In house four, shower water is used as flushing water for toilets and as service water for other purposes. These two identical houses will serve as a research project in which user behaviour and the performance of the environmental technology will be observed for two years.

Show homes for the green future

These houses equipped with environmental technology are model houses for the Bauverein zu Lünen, which are to be used in other new construction projects. The extent to which sanitary technologies from Ideal Standard have an impact on reducing water and heating energy is not being investigated as part of the research, but residents will certainly be able to see this from their consumption data. One of the relevant technologies is the FirmaFlow cartridge, which is installed in the Joy taps, for example. FirmaFlow uses advanced click technology with a mechanical stop to limit the flow of water to the amount required for hand washing and ensure a constant flow of water, while reducing consumption by up to 50 %. And thanks to the BlueStart technology in the Edge tap, for example, only cold water flows in the centre position. This saves hot water - unless the tap is actively set to the hot water position. This reduces energy consumption by up to 50 %.

Overall, this successful conversion of the colliery site into a residential neighbourhood is proof of how entrepreneurial spirit and social responsibility in the model of cooperative housing construction enable effective and responsible use of building land. Bauverein zu Lünen has already demonstrated expertise and determination in this direction with the Lippe Wohnpark, for example. The Preußenstraße neighbourhood is now another milestone in the history of the Bauverein. ‘With the goal of climate neutrality by 2045, we still have a lot to do. Our new-build projects clearly meet the requirements of the times and the housing needs of the population. As with the Johanna-Scharsewinkel-Straße residential neighbourhood, the new development on the former Mercedes site in Lünen had already attracted numerous interested parties before the ground-breaking ceremony had even taken place,’ comments Wächter. Ideal Standard intends to accompany this new project and other plans with its proven and new sanitary solutions.