As a municipal housing association in Berlin and one of the largest landlords in Germany, HOWOGE is an important player in the housing industry in Germany. The establishment and successful implementation of innovative topics and measures in the area of sustainability by HOWOGE is therefore likely to serve as a role model for other companies. The protection and promotion of biodiversity and the ecological and aesthetic qualification of nature in the residential environment are already anchored in two topics in HOWOGE’s 2020 sustainability report “Unser Bauplan für die Zukunft”.
New construction: Under the heading “Seal less, protect nature”, the goal is formulated that the outdoor space should be upgraded through appropriate planting, the open spaces should be structured and the habitat for native creatures should also be secured and newly created. This should preferably be done with native flora, whose habitat should be protected at the same time.
Existing properties: The aim here is to ecologically enhance open spaces and create more space for nature on HOWOGE’s properties.
Both fields of action offer good starting points for the application of the Animal-Aided Design method in HOWOGE’s new construction projects. In line with the methodological steps of Animal-Aided Design, a catalog of measures (toolbox) was developed for integrating the needs of target species into the planning of buildings and open spaces of new construction projects.