Housing construction: “There are many things that can simply be left out”

E rnst Böhm, wearing hiking boots and a sun hat, welcomes us to Bad Aibling for a tour of the company premises. The lawyer, who holds a doctorate in law, was for a long time the head of B&O, a company that takes care of the maintenance of half a million apartments across Germany. Böhm has concrete ideas for how to create housing quickly, affordably, and yet still well-maintained. In 2005, his company acquired a 70-hectare former military site in Bad Aibling and has since been converting it into a climate-friendly neighborhood. With showcase projects such as the eight-story wooden high-rise, a parking deck made entirely of wood, and residential buildings where building materials and technologies are tested. Time for a conversation about absurd standards, indestructible construction, and the potential of cemetery parking lots.