Why concept processes?

Municipal properties above a certain size or significance are awarded as part of a concept procedure. The guiding principle is the development of lively, socially and architecturally attractive and sustainable projects. The focus is not on the price, but on the quality of the submitted concept.

A standardized procedure is described below, which may vary depending on the size and content of the project as well as the addressees.

Project preparation

For each location, a basic assessment is carried out to define individual focal points and criteria in the areas of housing policy, architecture and urban development, neighborhood relevance, public welfare, ecology, climate and energy, open space design and mobility.
The procedures are deliberately kept low-threshold in order to enable versatile and creative concepts and to involve not only professional investors but also private developers.

The investors to whom the procedure is addressed and the number of procedures to be tendered for the respective location are determined on a project-specific basis.

Prior to the announcement, the concept procedures and objectives are presented to the political committees for discussion and approval.

Application and tendering phase

Once the political bodies have passed a resolution, the public announcement begins in daily newspapers, on the municipal website and on other portals. The invitation to tender contains detailed explanations of the procedure, the content requirements and the assessment criteria.

Participants submit their concepts with a description and visualization of the project.

Quality assurance

A preliminary review of the submitted concepts will take place prior to the jury meeting. The concepts are assessed by an interdisciplinary committee in accordance with the brief.

The jury will decide among the applicants according to the evaluation criteria specified in the announcement.

The selection committee can decide to further qualify a bid. This is particularly useful for building cooperatives in order to initially minimize the application effort for the bidders. If bidders are then given the opportunity to further develop their concept, the so-called handover phase begins. Depending on the project, a period of time is specified for this in which the project content is further qualified.

Conclusion of proceedings

Relevant concept contents are contractually agreed and secured. The concept procedure ends with the conclusion of a leasehold or, in individual cases, a purchase agreement.