Appendix A - Urban Form Analysis: Canberra's Sustainability ...

Urban Form Analysis - Type F
International Example - Freiburg Vauban, Germany
VAUBAN, a former French military base in Germany’s southwest, was
redeveloped as a model sustainable urban district in the late 1990s with a focus
on reduced car use, high ecological standards of buildings and co-building
initiatives to improve affordability.
Land Use Comparison Land Use Map
Built Form v Open Space
The housing types include two to four storey row-houses and
apartment buildings. All houses are built to a compulsory low
energy standard, some of them exceeding the performance to
Passivhaus or even Plus Energy Standard. Zoning prohibits the
construction of parking space on the site of the house.
Green Space
To create a landscaped neighbourhood was an explicit design
goal. The design of public green spaces, local streets and the
neighbourhood centre were developed in meetings and workshops
with residents.
Building Footprint - 21%
Private Open Space - 25%
Semi Public Open Space - 9%
Road Verge - 5%
Road - 4%
Public Open Space (parkland) - 36%
Private Space v Public Space
Semi-public spaces such as access galleries, community gardens
and community facilities are a visible feature of the neighbourhood.
Streets and other public spaces are playgrounds for children and
places for social interaction.
Building Height and Road Reserve
The plan departs from the simple inherited grid and creates a
network based on the principle of ‘fi ltered permeability’. The
network geometry favours active modes of transport such
as walking and cycling and disadvantages the car. This is
accomplished by reducing the number of streets that run through
the neighbourhood. Most local streets are shared zones and cul-desacs.
Vibrant mixed density residential development with ease of access to open space and communial green spaces.
FREIBURG VAUBAN’S new district is 41 hectares in size with 1,800 dwellings,
5,000 residents and 600 permanent jobs. It largely consists of two to four
storey row houses and walk-up apartments. Approximately two thirds of
the developments have no garages and front-door parking provisions. As of
2009 around 70% of the households had chosen to live without a private car.
A tram network and two bus lines connect the residents with the surrounding
area. Most individual blocks were sold to small cooperatives of owneroccupiers,
each comprising between 3 and 21 households, which were
responsible for the detailed building design of their shared property. This
generated diverse architectural and open space designs in a fi ne-grain mix of
lot sizes suitable for varying building types from single-family terrace houses
to 20-unit apartment buildings. Besides the owner cooperatives, there is a
number of rental units, both with and without public subsidies.
SNAPSHOT
Suburb Vauban Freiburg, Germany
Area of tile study 11.1 Hectares
Residential dwellings 524
Study area population 1462
Year of initial development 1998
The following comparison is based on land use data from a study area of 11.1 hectares
located in the southern part of the development (see Aerial Image on the right page).
Urban ecology, energy, water and social data are based on Vauban averages.
COMPACT LAYOUT AND
EFFICIENT LAND UTILISATION
Performance indicator Unit of measurement
Population density 134 residents per ha urban area
Gross dwelling density 44 dwellings per ha developable land
Net dwelling density 79 dwellings per ha residential area
Occupancy rate 3.1 occupants per dwelling
Developable land 55% of the overall urban area
Building footprint 21% of the overall urban area
Private open space 25% of the overall urban area
Semi public open space 9% of the overall urban area
Road reserve 9% of the overall urban area
Road 4% of the overall urban area
Verge 5% of the overall urban area
Public open space 36% of the overall urban area
URBAN ECOLOGY, ENERGY AND WATER
Performance indicator Unit of measurement
Annual residential greenhouse gas emissions 0.5 tonnes CO2 per resident
from onsite building operation 1.5 tonnes CO2 per dwelling
Annual residential energy use 10 GJ per resident
28 GJ per dwelling
Annual residential potable water use 9 kL per resident
29 kL per dwelling
Impervious open spaces 80%
The energy concept for the development consists of the following components:
• All houses are built to a compulsory low energy standard of 65 kWh/m2 every year
(German Average 1995-2000: 100 kWh/m2, before: 200 kWh/m2).
• 100 four-storey units are designed to an ultra-low energy building standard
(Passivhaus Standard) that has no conventional heating system and uses internal
heat gains, passive solar gains and heat recovery technology.
• A solar district of at least 100 units comprises plus-energy-houses with solar
collectors for heating and photovoltaic systems that produce a surplus of electricity.
The solar energy surplus is then sold back into the city’s grid and provides a profi t
on every home.