LIVEABLE
CITIES

CITY-CENTERED

A city is liveable if it is attractive for its inhabitants. As a home and as a center. A place they can help shape and with which they identify. A collection of places where they like to spend time, and an environment where they can be productive and feel a sense of community. A liveable city constantly reinvents itself. It adapts readily to extreme change – but still retains its core identity, today and for coming generations. It is digital, sustainable, innovative and cost-efficient.

Do you want to make your city more liveable or develop a liveable urban district? You can only do this with a holistic approach that connects the built and natural environments, and rethinks mobility within the city. An approach that does justice to the complexity of the urban system and offers future-proof solutions. Let’s work together to create liveable cities.

Quartier Heidestraße in Berlin

Heidestrasse district, Berlin The new quarter in Berlin is taking shape as a vibrant neighborhood comprising residential and office buildings, as well as commercial and green space. In close cooperation with the client, Drees & Sommer experts have been pressing ahead with the urban district development since 2014. They revised the town-planning scheme, planned the local infrastructure, organized the architectural competitions, and are assisting with the marketing of the property. At an early stage, the client decided to engage Drees & Sommer to develop and realize the entire quarter, not least because of the professional consulting the company provided. At a later stage of the project, Drees & Sommer was called upon to provide additional integrated expertise, for example in the areas of general specialist and logistics planning and DGNB certification of the district.

Forschungsprojekt UrbanLife+

UrbanLife+ research project: The Drees & Sommer Development Management team was involved in this project from the very beginning. One of the things developed by the experts was the Safety Atlas, a guide for urban planners and HMI (human-machine interaction) developers to show how to develop future urban districts to be senior-friendly.

Quartier Möckernkiez

Möckernkiez district, Berlin A sustainable, wheelchair-accessible and social residential area has been built together with the Möckernkiez cooperative. All buildings in the car-free district are of passive-house design and meet the ‘KfW 40’ energy efficiency standard. Drees & Sommer experts drew up the energy and sustainability concept for the entire apartment complex. They were also responsible for the schedule, budget and quality levels of this major project. This resulted in a unique district that not only meets high sustainability standards, but also offers multigenerational community living.

DRESO+ FOR LIVEABLE CITIES

Digital: Livable cities are smart. They make intelligent use of the possibilities offered by digitization – such as data linking and networking of wide-area structures and everyday objects – thus taking entire urban districts into the Internet of Things. Future-oriented concepts are required to find the right balance of high tech and low tech. 

Sustainable: The development of livable cities takes a holistic and sustainable approach. To promote the health and well-being of current and future inhabitants, livable cities base their use of resources on the Cradle-to-Cradle principle. Intelligent conversion & redevelopment allow buildings to be flexibly repurposed. Climate protection concepts for cities and urban quarters aim to achieve a beneficial footprint – in other words, a positive carbon footprint.

Innovative: Livable cities form a network with other cities and rural regions – linked by innovative mobility and transport concepts. Livable cities test disruptive ideas in virtual reality – and boldly implement promising concepts. 

Cost-efficient: Both established companies and startups appreciate the inspiring urban atmosphere of livable cities. They create jobs and wealth. Livable cities fulfill their function. They are well organized, with efficient processes that regulate urban life and provide opportunity for future investment.