Vauban, Freiburg
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Vauban is a new neighborhood of 5000 inhabitants and 600 jobs 4km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base.
Construction was begun in the mid-1990s, and by the beginning of 2001, 2000 people had moved in.
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[edit] Sustainable building
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.
[edit] Transport
Vauban is connected to the town center by a tramway (line 3, Paula-Modersohn-Platz).
Around 40% of the households have agreed to live without their own cars, while some others leave their vehicles at the edge of the development. Consequently most streets are pedestrian friendly and suitable for kids to play, and have a 5km/hour speed limit.
[edit] History of the site
The site was originally developed as a military base in 1936, and was taken over after World War II 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. Following battles with the city government, squatters won the rights to four of the original twenty barracks. The other sixteen were re-appropriated by the city and have been converted into private apartments or student dormitories for the University of Freiburg. Some former residents 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-governed independent residential initiative that, through an alternative living concept, developed living spaces for students as well as subsidized housing. A self-governing "Community Center 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.
