Vauban () is a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community ...

(''Stadtteil'') to the south of the town centre in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former

French military The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...

base named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th century French Marshal who built fortifications in Freiburg while the region was under French rule. Construction began in 1998, and the first two residents arrived in 2001.

History

The site was originally developed as a military base in 1936 and was taken over after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

by the French forces occupying the region. The military left in 1992. Over a period of some years the vacant structures were occupied by various tribes of hippies and

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

. Following battles with the city government, squatters won the rights to four of the original twenty barracks. At the same time a group called "Forum Vauban" was pressing the City Council to develop the site in an eco-friendly way. The remaining 38 hectares were acquired by Freiburg City Council, who delegated the mandatory community consultation to Forum Vauban. This collaboration between the Council and Forum Vauban led to the masterplan with its car-free concept. Most of the individual plots were sold to community-led housing ('Baugruppen') groups whose bids were assessed against criteria favouring families with children, older people and Freiburg residents. Some Baugruppen were formed by architects, others by prospective residents planning varying elements of self-build. Some of the other plots were sold to private developers. Another part of the site was developed for student dormitories for the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

. Some former occupants of these structures have taken up residence in a diverse assortment of cars, vans, and retired civil service vehicles, forming what has been named Wagenplatz. More "alternative" projects have, among other things, converted old barracks at a low cost, such as S.U.S.I., a self-governing independent residential initiative that, through an alternative living concept, developed living spaces for students as well as subsidized housing. A self-governing "

Community Centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

Building 037" (german: Stadtteilzentrum Haus 037) has been established in one of the preserved barracks. Some former barracks were occupied in early 2005, as they would have been demolished. Vauban has 5,267 residents as of 2020.

Transport

Within Vauban, transport is primarily by foot or bicycle: according to Scheurer (2001), 38–73% of movements were performed by walking or cycling, as opposed to 5–16% by car. Scheurer (2001) found that cycling was the main mode of transport for most trips and most activities, including commuting and shopping. The development is connected to

city centre by a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

way and is laid out linearly along the tracks, such that all homes are within easy walking distance from a tram stop. In 2006, just after the tram network had been extended, 70% of local public transport trips were made by tram, and 30% by bus. The level of car ownership has fallen over time: "Scheurer (2001) and Nobis (2003) found that just over half of households owned a car" (Scheurer: 54%; Nobis: "over 40%" carfree), but according to Melia et al. (2010), "parking levels suggest a substantial majority of households do not own cars there today." As of 2009, around 70% of the households had chosen to live without a private car. The preference for walking and cycling can be partly attributed to the layout of the district. Building on previous experience, the plan departs from the simple inherited grid and creates a network, which incorporates the principle of “ filtered permeability”. It means that the network geometry favours the active modes of transport and, selectively, “filters out” the car. This is accomplished by reducing the number of streets that run through the neighbourhood. Instead, most local streets are crescents and cul-de-sacs (see drawing). While they are discontinuous for cars, they connect to a network of pedestrian and bike paths, which permeate the entire neighbourhood. In addition, these paths go through or past open spaces, adding to the enjoyment of the trip. The logic of filtering a mode of transport is fully expressed in a new comprehensive model for laying out neighbourhoods and districts – the

Fused Grid The fused grid is a street network pattern first proposed in 2002 and subsequently applied in Calgary, Alberta (2006) and Stratford, Ontario (2004). It represents a synthesis of two well known and extensively used network concepts: the "grid" an ...

. Most of Vauban's residential streets are described as ''stellplatzfrei'' – literally "free from parking spaces". Vehicles are allowed down these streets at walking pace to pick up and deliver but not to park, although there are some infractions as the system depends essentially on social consensus – there are few official controls. Each year, households are required to sign a declaration stating either that they do not own a car, or that they do, in which case they must buy a space in one of the multi-storey car parks on the periphery, at a one-off cost of €17,500 plus a monthly service fee (in 2006). According to Melia (2006), "the citywide car sharing club has the greatest concentration of its 2,500 members in Vauban – at least ten of its cars are stationed around the district."

Sustainable construction

All houses are built to a low-energy consumption standard, with 100 units designed to the '' Passivhaus'' ultra-low energy building standard. Other buildings are heated by a combined heat and power station burning wood chips, while many of the buildings have solar collectors or

photovoltaic cells A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.

.Delleske, Andreas: ''Passivhaus Wohnen & Arbeiten''
/ref> Perhaps the best example of sustainable building is the Solar Settlement in Vauban, a 59 PlusEnergy home housing community. It is the first housing community worldwide in which all the homes produce a positive energy balance. The solar energy surplus is then sold back into the city's grid for a profit on every home.Rolf Disch Solararchitektur
/ref>

References

Sources

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External links