On July 8, 2026, the German Building Standards Conference took place at the Humboldt Forum in Berlin. The event was hosted by Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Architect Dietmar Walberg, Managing Director of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für zeitgemäßes Bauen e.V., and Dipl.-Ing. Heike Böhmer, Executive Director of the Institut für Bauforschung e.V.
On the panel, Eike Becker advocated for a critical review of case law regarding the application of building codes.
His position: Building codes are important agreements among market participants, but they are not building laws.
Therefore, their application should allow for flexibility, provided that the agreed-upon safety objectives are met.
The conference highlighted just how central the question of appropriate standards is to the future of construction:
How can quality, safety, and accountability be ensured without hindering innovation, simplicity, and affordable housing construction?