The application phase for the KfW Building Award 2018 ends on March 1, 2018 and is open to private developers and building cooperatives.

The application phase for the KfW Building Award 2018 ends on 1 March 2018. Until then, private developers or building cooperatives who have implemented a new construction project or extended, converted, modernized or revitalized an existing building in the past five years can apply.

The projects submitted will be assessed and awarded prizes as a whole. The decisive factor is the right balance of successful architecture and appearance, good integration into the structural environment, energy and cost efficiency, future-oriented and sustainable construction methods, optimal use of space and floor area as well as individual comfort.

“The KfW Building Award is intended to inspire the developers of today and tomorrow to renovate existing living space with foresight and to plan new living space with an eye to the future,” explains Ingrid Hengster, member of the Executive Board of KfW Bankengruppe. “We honor residential projects that meet the requirements of our time in an exemplary manner. The focus is on combining successful architecture with energy efficiency, accessibility and living comfort.”

The prize is endowed with a total of EUR 35,000. The winners in the categories “New Construction” and “Building in Existing Contexts” (extension, conversion, modernization) will receive a total of EUR 30,000. The first prize in both categories is endowed with EUR 7,000 each, the second prize with EUR 5,000 each and the winners of the third prize each receive EUR 3,000. In addition, the jury, chaired by architect Hans Kollhoff, has the option of awarding a special prize worth EUR 5,000.

The award ceremony will take place on May 17, 2018 at the Bertelsmann AG Representative Office in the capital, Unter den Linden 1, Berlin.

Further information and application documents can be found at www.kfw.de

Everyone knows Pompeii. In 79 AD, after an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, numerous remains – including human remains – were preserved by the ash. Such traces were also found in Kula in western Turkey. During the construction of a dam in 1969, human footprints were discovered, among other things, the dating of which could not yet be clarified. Now, under […]

Everyone knows Pompeii. In 79 AD, after an eruption of Mount Vesuvius, numerous remains – including human remains – were preserved by the ash. Such traces were also found in Kula in western Turkey. During the construction of a dam in 1969, human footprints were discovered, among other things, the dating of which could not be clarified until now. Now, under the leadership of scientists from the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, it has been proven that the footprints are around 11,000 years old – and therefore much younger than originally assumed. The assumptions ranged from 250,000 to 25,000 years.

A new method based on the analysis of particles produced by cosmic radiation in rocks near the surface was used for the dating. The particles used are the isotopes helium-3 and beryllium-10. The rocks dated in this way were deposited on the Earth’s surface at the same time as the volcanic ash from Kula. The new dating now enables archaeologists to reconstruct the settlement history of the region.

The study also proves that several volcanic eruptions have taken place in the Kula volcanic field, one of the youngest volcanic areas in the eastern Mediterranean, in the last 4,000 years. Kilometers of lava flows were deposited in the process. The study is presented in detail by Caroline Heinekea, Samuel Niedermann, Ralf Hetzela and Cüneyt Akal in the 34th issue of Quaternary Geochronolgy.