OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2012. KfW presented its KfW award for construction and housing to private builders from Tubingen, Potsdam, Hanover, Dresden and Freiberg to acknowledge their energy-efficient conversions that meet the needs of all generations. To mark the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the KfW award, KfW also presented a special "Monument modernisation" award to a winner in Mosisgreut, located in Germany's Allgau region. Modernisers whose building work also met requirements for preserving buildings or for buildings specially worthy of protection were eligible to apply. The winners were selected by a jury from altogether around 170 applications and received a total of EUR 30,000 in prize money.

"The KfW Award 2012 rewards builders and homeowners who aligned energy efficiency, accessibility and successful architecture particularly well. The object in Tubingen which won first prize excelled in doing just that," said Werner Genter, Senior Vice President at KfW, upon awarding the prizes. "The broad range of applications shows that the KfW promotional programmes "Energy-Efficient Refurbishment" and "Age-appropriate Conversion" with effective interest rates from 1% and grants are frequently an important incentive to invest. The majority of the prize-winners received funding under these programmes and in many cases also achieved the KfW standards set for a "KfW Efficiency House" or an "Age-appropriate Home"."

The special award was presented by Rainer Bomba, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs: "Modernisation with vision - this particularly applies to listed buildings. They require careful energy-efficient refurbishment that preserves their character. Since April of this year we have been offering the owners of these buildings new, tailored promotional funding thanks to the "KfW Efficiency House Monument" standard. And this year's special award demonstrates that energy efficiency and monument protection are not insurmountable contradictions but can instead - given good planning - benefit everyone!

The individual prizes are as follows:

 - First prize: Christa and Ernst E. Gumrich refurbished their multi-family home in Tubingen, the so-called "House of the Nuns", by applying all available measures. They achieved the KfW standards set for a "KfW Energy Efficiency House 85" and an "Age-appropriate Home". At the same time, they very cautiously and carefully refurbished the historic house that figures prominently in the urban landscape.

 - Second prize: Hubertus Negwer and Elisabeth Steuber implemented a comprehensive package of energy-efficient refurbishment measures in modernising their villa in Potsdam.

 - Third prize: The joint building venture Sudstadtschule GbR in Hanover refurbished a former school for the blind via modernisation and energy-efficiency measures, turning it into a community living project catering to all generations.

- Fourth prize: The builders association Friedrichstra?e 56 in Dresden purchased a building originally used as a residential and historical office building and refurbished it for their own use "with vision".

 - Fifth prize: Anita and Rico Barth refurbished a multi-family house in Freiberg, applying energy-efficiency measures and catering to the needs of all generations and in this way turning it into a modern multi-generation home.

- Special award "Monument modernisation": Simone and Bruno Werner of Kreit were presented with this special award for their listed hunting lodge in Mosisgreut. They completely refurbished the heavily damaged building that had remained empty for over 40 years and transformed it into a residential building for everyday use.

As one of the biggest promoters of private home ownership in Germany, KfW launched the construction and housing competition in 2003. It focuses on promoting energy-conscious, accessible and socially acceptable construction.