Exploring a climate-friendly urban district in Bruck an der Mur by using a new planning and financing approach

With the mission of a "Klimaneutrale Stadt” pioneering cities are setting a clear example to achieve climate neutrality by 2040. Public buildings play a key role in this effort, particularly through thermal renovation.

As part of the PDCA4Future exploratory project, innovative planning and evaluation tools are being developed for pioneering (small) cities that assess the direct and indirect effects on the urban environment based on a climate neutrality roadmap. The goal is to provide a well-founded basis for decision-making on renovation and new construction projects.

Specifically, the project examines the Hannes-Bammer sports hall, the single building with the highest electricity consumption owned by the city of Bruck an der Mur. A preliminary analysis showed that a new building at a different location would appear to be more cost-effective in the short term, but taking into account the urban economic impact, refurbishment at the existing location would be more economical and, above all, more sustainable in the long term.

The primary objective of PDCA4Future is to analyze the feasibility of renovating and redesigning the area surrounding the Hannes-Bammer sports hall. using the planning, evaluation and financing tools developed for this purpose.

Additional project goals:

• A holistic approach to urban planning by considering the entire surrounding area.
• User participation to ensure that the sports hall meets the actual needs of the community.
• Interdisciplinary workshops to align internal administrative interests.
• The development of guidelines for transport, green spaces, and urban densification in the new district.

The instruments developed within the project will subsequently be used for other urban projects in the city can be replicated for other (pioneering) cities

• Stadtgemeinde Bruck an der Mur
• Architekturbüro Schemmel