Building cooperative Esslingen eG

‘A win-win situation for everyone’. The Esslingen Building Cooperative (BG) has been fitting out its flats to the same standards for the past ten years. This means that tiles, sanitary fittings and floor coverings are the same throughout. BG board member Oliver Kulpanek and Michael Mües from the floor covering manufacturer Windmöller explain the benefits of this approach.

At the Esslingen Building Cooperative, all flats are fitted out in the same way. What sort of scale are we talking about here?

Kulpanek: Our housing association owns just under 3,000 flats in Esslingen, with a total living area of 150,000 square metres. Ten years ago, we began fitting out all the flats to the same standard – this includes tiles, sanitary fittings, wallpaper and flooring, as well as skirting boards, sockets and switches. These standards were introduced gradually as part of ongoing refurbishments or renovations. This is because many of our buildings date back to the 1920s – they were originally built as workers’ accommodation. However, the standards apply just as much to new buildings. Over the past decade, we have built 400 flats, with a further 70 in the planning stage.

What are the advantages of standardised fittings?

Kulpanek: Let me explain this in concrete terms using the example of flooring: ten years ago, we opted for a specific product. In our case, this is a resilient design floor from the wineo brand by Windmöller. More than two-thirds of all flats are now fitted with it. Every year, we order around 10,000 to 12,000 square metres of it, which we store on our premises. The tradespeople can then collect the necessary materials directly from us. This means we don’t have to go through the process of selecting a floor, negotiating prices, placing an order and waiting for delivery every time we carry out a refurbishment. And we also avoid the problem of the flooring potentially no longer being available when repairs are needed later on.

How do you organise things with the tradespeople?

Kulpanek: For the installation work, we draw on a pool of tradespeople. These are all local businesses which we commission on a rotating basis under the same terms and conditions. This simplifies the process of awarding contracts and takes a huge load off our administration. For the tradespeople, installing this flooring has now become routine.

Why did you choose this particular design flooring?

Kulpanek: It is hard-wearing and can be used for decades without losing its visual appeal. That suits us perfectly: we see ourselves as a quality supplier committed to sustainable, positive growth. Every investment should pay off in the long term.

Mües: Wineo has created a design exclusively for the Esslingen Building Cooperative that is timeless and complements as many interior styles and colour schemes as possible. The oak finish looks just like real parquet. This permanently elastic flooring is extremely hard-wearing, easy to clean and comfortable to walk on – offering a high level of living comfort. These are all important considerations when it comes to a floor that will be used by a wide variety of people. It can even be recycled at the end of its life.

Kulpanek: We’ve also fitted this flooring in the building cooperative’s offices. Since we started using this design flooring – that is, for the past ten years – we haven’t had to replace it anywhere due to wear and tear. Wineo has also provided us with a 20-year guarantee.

And what do your tenants think of it?

Kulpanek: We’ve had nothing but positive feedback so far. The flooring is very well received thanks to its parquet-style appearance, and it feels great underfoot too. We hear from the tradespeople that the flooring is easy to lay, with very little waste. This example alone shows that standards in housing construction prove to be a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Mües: Incidentally, that also applies to us as manufacturers. We benefit from guaranteed purchase volumes. This gives us planning security. It’s enough for us to produce the flooring just once a year.

A designer floor for former workers’ flats...

Kulpanek: Do you think it doesn’t fit? It actually fits very well indeed. After all, in the 1920s, the building cooperative’s mission was to build high-quality flats for workers. The founding members at the time were mainly entrepreneurs who wanted to offer their workforce decent housing at affordable prices. We feel committed to upholding this principle.