Verena Hubertz on ZDF: Minister of Construction wants to abolish "standards and bells and whistles"

The new Federal Minister of Construction, Verena Hubertz, went all out with her rhetorical tools on Tuesday morning on ZDF. Hubertz spoke of "crowbars," "creative measures," and "concentrated buttons."

The SPD minister wants to build "quickly, but not recklessly." She no longer intends to adhere to the previous government's target of 400,000 homes per year. When asked why, she explained: "The world is moving faster than we can see." It's not appropriate to set a target and then "run behind" it for four years.

When moderator Eva-Maria Lemke wants to hear concrete examples of "creative measures" from Hubertz, the minister turns to soundproofing.

"There's the so-called TA Lärm, a sound insulation regulation." This involves measuring sound outside the walls. Hubertz grins: "But you live in your apartment. So, behind the wall." She therefore wants to create more flexible options for sound insulation measurements in construction.

Overall, Hubertz's "construction turbo" should ensure faster construction in Germany. Hubertz continued: "I want to turn five years into two months. There are cities that plan a new building in ten years. That's not possible." Serial construction could achieve time savings of around 30 to 40 percent. If one also eliminates "standards and bells and whistles," as Hubertz puts it , even more.

Criticism comes primarily from environmental groups and the opposition, who fear that the "construction boost" will come at the expense of sustainability and push environmentally friendly construction into the background.