Living by the water: Prepare for rising water levels

Cologne Waterfront properties are popular in Europe. This also drives up prices. The projects are not only becoming more spectacular, but also more and more challenging in planning and construction. The rising sea level, limited areas on the water, but also floods and other natural disasters will play an increasingly important role in construction in the future.

In addition, there is hardly any new building land, especially on islands. This also applies to Mallorca, which is known to be one of the most popular travel destinations in the Mediterranean. “Forbes Magazine” named the Spanish Balearic island the top price destination for 2023, making it a coveted investment location for property buyers worldwide. “There are almost no vacancies left. That has an impact on prices,” says Hans Lenz, Managing Director of Engel & Völkers Mallorca Südwest.

Engel & Völkers Mallorca recorded a transaction volume of around 855 million euros in 2022. Compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019, sales have almost doubled. And this despite the fact that the number of new buildings continues to decrease. While around 18,000 new properties were built every year in the 1990s, the figure is around 3,500 today. “In order to be able to keep up with the increasing population, 7,000 new houses would actually have to be built every year,” explains Lenz. Ten new villas are currently being built every year in the immediate vicinity of the sea.

Scarce areas

Because space by the water is so scarce, more and more architects are working on projects on the water. This is how they create floating houses and entire floating settlements. For example in the north of Amsterdam: In a former industrial docks in the Dutch capital, around 100 people live permanently in a houseboat settlement. Such projects are still the exception.

Because cities often do not take into account that the water level will rise in the future. Amsterdam regulates the water level with locks. “Many other cities don’t have this infrastructure. When the water comes, there’s not much you can do afterwards,” says Sascha Glasl, Managing Director of the Dutch architects’ studio Space & Matter. The studio designed the plan for the houseboat settlement.

Not all areas will be equally affected by projected sea level rise. If flooding occurs only temporarily in an area, planners can take this into account in the design. “All projects on the water have to be rethought. Architects and engineers have to ask themselves whether the buildings are really fit for the future,” says Glasl.

For example, you could equip the ground floors for possible flooding. Sockets are then attached to the ceiling so that the technology in the building remains intact in the event of water ingress. “There will probably only be a real rethinking of planning when insurance companies and banks say that the risk is becoming too high,” says Glasl.

It surprises him that so many projects are still being built traditionally, although the dangers are particularly visible in urban areas. But the construction projects in Europe are becoming more and more innovative, observes the expert. “A lot will change in the next 50 years.”

Even the underwater location is interesting for planners. In January 2023, Amsterdam opened a new bicycle parking garage at Central Station, built below the surface of the water. The Stationsplein bicycle parking garage is located under the open waterfront. With space for 7000 bikes, it is the largest in the city.

>> Read here: Luxury architecture sets new priorities with sustainability

A new project in Norway is also innovative. The waterfront at Fornebu Brygge outside the center of Oslo is to be renewed. A sea center including an aquarium with an underwater gallery is to be built on an area of ​​over 45,000 square meters on a previously unused parking lot. “Fjordarium” is the name of the sustainable aquarium for which Haptic Architects and Oslo Works have presented their designs.

However, what is still most urgently needed in German cities are residential buildings – the space for them is limited. In Hamburg, an entire district with tiny apartments, but also luxury apartments in high-rise buildings, is being built in Hafencity. The construction of the district is expected to cost around 600 million euros and be completed by 2026. 122 condominiums are to be built in two residential towers. The apartments are between 80 and 140 square meters and will cost around 14,000 euros per square meter.

The riverside location on the Neckar is also popular. A new, sustainable district is to be created in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim. Bietigheimer Wohnbau GmbH is planning to build around 140 apartments, some of them in the high-price segment. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2027. The design comes from the Dutch architecture firm NL Architects and a+r Architekten from Stuttgart.

A former service building from the 1970s is also to be converted in the quarter. The project aims to show how living can be realized in an industrial environment. Part of the project area belongs to EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, which is involved in the project development. The project has been officially named the “IBA’27 project”.

lake instead of sea

Many inland communities are neither on the sea nor on a river, so lakes are becoming increasingly important. Some projects open up the possibility of living by the water for everyone – even if only for a short time. In Eutin, Schleswig-Holstein, the Seeloge inclusion hotel was built on behalf of the Ostholsteiner am See company. The company paid around 8.9 million euros for the construction of the 1,800 square meter usable area. In order to be considered an inclusive operation, the hotel must employ at least 30 percent people with disabilities.

Shortly after its completion, the hotel was awarded the State Building Culture Prize 2022 in the “Public Buildings” category. The hotel is barrier-free. Selected rooms are equipped with extra-large doors, so that people with wheelchairs have enough space. But even visitors with limited vision should be able to find their way around inside the hotel more easily.

More: Real estate on the coast – the berth is even more desirable than the living space