The buildings in GoWest have 5 to 6 floors and an impressive landscape is being created on their roofs: Germany’s largest rooftop garden is being realized in GoWest with approximately 15,000m². Fresh fruit, vegetables, and even our own bee honey will be delivered directly to the tables of the quarter’s users via short routes.
To allow the largest possible area for use by horticulture and commercial tenants, much of the photovoltaics will be elevated. This creates space for professional farming and at the same time provides shade for plants and people. Bees were already established on the project site in the spring of 2018. Surrounded by the Schmargendorf allotments, they have quickly become at home here. Last year, our beekeepers spun 190 kg of the finest neighborhood honey in organic quality.
In GoWest, we are planning an energetically optimized quarter through the use of both passive and active measures:
Energy concept
Passive measures:
- Orientation of the buildings in an east-west direction
- Concrete activation: use of the building structure as a heat and cold reservoir
- Good AV ratio of outer shell to building volume
- Optimal window/wall ratio
- Three-dimensional facade design for self-shading
- Structural sun protection
- Night cooling via window flaps
Active measures:
- Use of excess heat from the data center (2.5 MW)
- Use of rainwater for humidification of cooling systems
- Batteries as emergency power and for e-car supply
- Photovoltaic systems on the roof
Excellent from the beginning
The German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) has already presented multiple awards to the GoWest Commercial Yards: In 2019, the future commercial courtyards in Berlin-Schmargendorf received the DGNB pre-certificate for districts. With the overall degree of fulfillment of 81.6% (see DGNB Flower) the highest award level of platinum was achieved. The DGNB full certificate, which can be awarded once the quarter is largely completed, is currently in progress. These DGNB awards ensure a holistic sustainability approach for the project.
In addition to the district certification we are also striving for the DGNB building certificates. A significant step was taken in 2024 with the pre-certification of Building Plot 07 within the first construction phase. With an overall fulfillment rate of 81.9% we received our second DGNB Platinum certification – for sustainable office and administration buildings.
ECARF certification: As one of the first quarters in Germany, we have GoWest certified by the European Centre for Allergy Research Foundation (ECARF) and the Allergy Friendly Buildings Alliance (AFBA). The certificate includes a scientific-medical evaluation not only of all building materials used, but also the vegetation in the neighborhood must meet the many criteria.
It is important to us that the occupants of GoWest enjoy a healthy, allergy-friendly working environment both indoors and outdoors at the new business location. For the planning and corresponding preparations, the GoWest Commercial Yards were awarded the pre-certificate at the Expo Real in Munich as early as 2021.
