The winners of the Green & Blue Building Awards (GBB Award) were honored.
At the 16th Green & Blue Building Conference, Austria's largest conference for sustainable real estate, the winners of the Green & Blue Building Award (GBB Award) were announced at the Anantara Palais Hansen. For fourteen years, the initiators, Gudrun and Alexander Ghezzo, have presented this award, which recognizes outstanding projects, services, and products with a focus on sustainability in the construction and real estate industry. In 2025, the distinguished jury focused on exemplary projects and the enhancement of existing buildings.
Alexander Ghezzo, partner at Ghezzo: Knowledge rocks!, is delighted for the winners: „What truly impresses me is that submissions which would have been flagship projects five years ago are now almost the baseline. The real estate industry isn't standing still, but is constantly evolving – ESG and sustainability are genuine drivers of innovation!“
In the "Projects" category, the serial renovation project in the Lönssiedlung housing estate in Düsseldorf-Stockum, submitted by Renowate, received an award. The project puts climate-neutral living into practice through digital planning, industrial prefabrication, and integrated processes. By serially renovating 88 residential units dating from the 1930s, the project achieves an energy efficiency upgrade from class H to A+ and reduces energy consumption by approximately 90 percent. Sustainable building materials, heat pumps, and photovoltaics actively contribute to resource conservation. Implementation while the buildings were occupied, along with the involvement of tenants via a digital portal, illustrates the practical and socially responsible approach.
„The Lönssiedlung clearly demonstrates how serial renovation can create climate-neutral and future-proof living space – and is therefore considered a true best-practice example for sustainable neighborhood development,“ said Rainer Scheidle, head of the Vienna office of Renowate.
In the "Products and Services" category, Ochsner was recognized for its second-life heat pumps. The goal is to extend the lifespan of existing units through targeted take-back and refurbishment, thereby reducing resource consumption in the production of new heat pumps. The program includes the complete overhaul and sale of used or visually damaged units, reconditioning and repair, as well as the sale of second-life spare parts.
„Often, new products are constantly being labeled „sustainable“ simply because they work in the lab, but this has only limited benefit for the world as a whole. Our program is called „credible green.“ To make a real contribution to the world, you have to do the right things and scale them up. Otherwise, they remain just „nice ideas,“” says Hannes Brandner, Technical Director and founder of the SecondLife program at Ochsner Heat Pumps.
Top submitter
In addition to the award winners, the following projects, products and services were recognized as top submissions at the GBB Award:
Products and Services
- Brantner Österreich GmbH – Resource-saving industrial aggregate made from waste incineration residues:
Brantner green solutions' submission makes circular economy possible in areas where landfilling was previously the only option. A newly developed processing method recovers valuable raw materials such as metals, glass, and industrially usable aggregate for concrete from the bed and grate ash of waste incineration.
The process, developed jointly with Linz AG, MA 48 – City of Vienna, Wopfinger Transportbeton and TU Vienna, achieves the crucial balance between pollutant removal and resource conservation. This allows hundreds of thousands of tons of material to be returned to the cycle annually, thus conserving natural resources.
„A project that not only reduces waste but also integrates a previously little-used material flow into the cycle – a true circle closer in the sense of the circular economy,“ judged juror Jörg Buß, founder and board member, DREA.
- Enshift AG – Green Energy Contracting: Decarbonization without investment risk
With Green Energy Contracting, Enshift enables the complete decarbonization of properties without any capital outlay for owners. The company assumes all investments and risks, thus making sustainable energy supply economically attractive.
Enshift designs integrated energy systems comprising PV, storage solutions, heat pumps, and e-mobility, enabling entire building portfolios to become climate-neutral. At the same time, principles of the circular economy are incorporated – from utilizing unused roof and facade areas to recycling the systems at the end of their lifespan.
„Enshift removes financial barriers to the energy transition and combines ecological responsibility with economic benefits – a solution where everyone wins and no one loses,“ praised juror Christian Polzer, head of the „Green Building“ study program at FH Campus Vienna. - Pointinger Bau – Green Harmony Kirchham: Sustainability as a way of life
The Green Harmony Kirchham project by Pointinger Bau consistently implements sustainability throughout the entire life cycle of a building – from development and planning through construction and operation to conversion or repurposing. The submitted proposal is for an affordable, ecological, and self-determined housing project for older people, developed in collaboration with Daheimpflege GmbH.
The three-story timber-frame building comprises 21 residential units with 1,255 m² of usable floor space and was constructed in just ten months. Of particular note is the sophisticated energy and resource management system: a heat pump with ground collectors, a photovoltaic facade, rainwater harvesting, a green roof, and thermally activated building components ensure maximum energy efficiency. The concept is complemented by communal areas, shared spaces, and a garden that promotes social interaction and enhances the quality of life for seniors.
„Green Harmony proves that sustainable architecture, social responsibility and economic feasibility are not contradictory, but together set the standard for the living of the future,“ said juror Ute Schaller, Group Leader KSI, City of Vienna, Municipal Directorate of Construction and Technology. - Roots House – The turning point of the heat transition in urban housing
Roots House has successfully implemented a simple, affordable, and scalable energy transition in urban buildings. A dilapidated 1970s office building was transformed into an energy-independent research and demonstration building with 900 m² of usable space. The result: a reduction of 94 tons of heating energy demand and 73 tons of CO₂ emissions per year – a milestone for the urban energy transition.
The basis of its success is a modular, scalable heating system that utilizes a low-temperature heating network, air absorbers, ground source heat pumps, and heat pumps, and can be integrated into virtually any building structure. Instead of expensive individual measures, the system relies on standardization and plug-and-play principles, drastically reducing complexity and costs.
The building itself serves as a real-world laboratory and knowledge platform where sustainable technologies can be experienced firsthand. It is complemented by the Roots Café, where new ideas and collaborations can emerge.
„Roots Haus untangles the Gordian knot of the heat transition in existing buildings – with a system that finally makes climate neutrality in the city practical, economical and feasible across the board,“ juror Peter Engert, Managing Director, ÖGNI, praised.
The jury of the GBB Awards consists of experts and thought leaders in the industry who distinguish themselves through their commitment to sustainability:
- Jörg Buß, Board Member, DREA
- Peter Engert, Managing Director of ÖGNI
- Marc Guido Höhne, Managing Director, Delta
- Hannes Horvath, Founder, HAND GmbH
- Caroline Mocker, CEO, VIG Asset Management.
- Christian Polzer, Head of the "Green Building" study program, FH Campus Vienna
- Ute Schaller, Group Leader KSI, City of Vienna, Department of Construction and Technology
- Karl Zimota, Expert Real Estate Sustainability Building Lifecycle Services, TÜV Süd
The GBB Awards ceremony took place as part of the 16th Green & Blue Building Conference, where over 200 leading figures from the DACH region met to discuss technical, economic and social trends in the real estate industry, present new solutions and strengthen alliances.
„With the GBB, the Green and Blue Building Conference, we have implemented what is most important to us: sharing knowledge, acting sustainably and creating joy and warmth in collaboration – an atmosphere for exchange, inspiration and strong alliances,“ summarizes Gudrun Ghezzo, partner of Ghezzo GmbH, the spirit of the #wissenROCKT! events.