In July, our project manager Prof. Eike Musall was again on the television program Lokalzeit Düsseldorf of the public broadcaster WDR. He spoke about the possibility of making cities greener and improving the urban climate.
When asked if industrial buildings could never be turned into housing, Eike responds:
«Certainly, the building depths of industrial buildings are often not suitable to immediately make living space out of them. But it’s still possible: You can cut into the building, separate parts of it, or simply add more floors. We are currently doing this with a student project for an industrial building in Wuppertal, where we are adding living space, preserving the existing building stock and using it to achieve redensification.»
Prof. Eike Musall
At the end, the moderator points out that many conditions already exist and that houses cannot be torn down at will. She asks what can be done concretely to improve the urban climate.
«It is important to seal less areas and to green existing areas. We have the possibility to green roofs and facades. And we also have the possibility to unseal sealed surfaces, to fill them with greenery and to realize water surfaces. The usual grip on concrete slabs must be significantly reduced.
Prof. Eike Musall
Air intake corridors must not be obstructed. In Düsseldorf, for example, it is the aisle above Hamm that definitely provides for cold air inflow into Düsseldorf. If construction were to take place there, it would probably be detrimental to the city climate.»
Unfortunately the program is no longer available due to German legislation.