Due to standards that have been highly touted for years, private housing construction in Germany has almost come to a standstill. The overall package has become so expensive that hardly anyone can afford the rents. It is unbelievable that this has been accepted for years.

In this situation, the real estate industry is calling on the government and begging for tax breaks and subsidies. That would help, of course. 

But even without monumental subsidies, it is entirely possible to build the urgently needed apartments.

A look abroad shows how things can be done differently. Our son is currently studying in Berkeley, San Francisco, and shares a 15 m² room with a roommate. A bunk bed, two desks, two dressers – that's it. Bathroom and toilet across the hall. Sounds like a children's room for adults and is called a campus. Certainly not a permanent solution. But the dormitory also offers a library, study rooms, lounge areas, and hot meals almost around the clock. Quality of life is not measured solely in square meters, but is also a communal experience. 

In Germany, many people are proud of the building quality that has been accumulated over the years and is valued worldwide. But anyone who can't find a suitable apartment today will see things differently. And gladly trade a premium cloud cuckoo land for a newly built apartment with basic standards.

Maximum energy efficiency, high-end sound insulation, underground parking, everything barrier-free in 30 years, top-notch fittings, all wiring concealed behind plaster, and sophisticated ventilation technology drive costs so high that building affordable rentals has become an unattainable dream. 

Sustainable housing construction therefore needs less perfectionism, more pragmatism, less regulation, and more experimentation. Building is not a luxury, but a basic social need.

That is why we need different houses. They must be simpler in order to be affordable and offer other social qualities: lower costs and higher quality of life.

Because it has become clear that what is being built and how it is being built is not effective, indeed, it is wrong.

In the coveted feel-good neighborhoods with old buildings, people are happy even if they have to climb stairs or hear their neighbors' children from time to time. Why shouldn't that also be acceptable for new buildings? 

Then simplicity becomes the architectural goal: beauty arises from the absence of ugliness.

This is how it can be done: compact buildings with few extras, efficient and smaller apartments, no underground parking or tenant basements, but storage rooms in the apartments, walls and ceilings without structural extras, reduction of excessive standards for sound insulation, fire protection, and accessibility, no mechanical ventilation, but an app that helps users ventilate their apartments by opening windows, Kfw 70 instead of 40,  screed, carpet, woodchip wallpaper can be done away with, smartphones replace video intercoms, room doors don't need locks, but knocking is back, fewer sockets, kinetic switches instead of wiring, showers instead of bathtubs.

Sounds like a horror list from heartless capitalists? But it's a reality that's taken for granted in most European countries.

Taken together, construction costs in Germany can be reduced by around 40% right away. Without sacrificing basic living quality.

The mega standards and the way new buildings are constructed in Germany are the result of misplaced priorities. 50% of single households have no social contact, but a lot of loneliness. And the apartments are so expensive that hardly anyone can afford them.

Our daughter is also currently traveling and spending her semester abroad in Adelaide, Australia. There, apartments no longer have to be equipped with their own kitchen, bathroom, and balcony if communal rooms and outdoor areas are available. This saves on construction costs, encourages people to meet and easily strike up conversations during everyday activities. 

Two places with similar approaches: creating more quality of life in less space. Why shouldn't this also be possible in Germany?