The Main Thing Is Housing

In its next exhibition on urban development policy, the BDA Gallery Berlin will focus on public and cooperative housing in Berlin. To this end, the BDA’s Working Group on Professional Policy and Housing has selected residential buildings and neighborhoods in Berlin from the past 15 years that offer new solutions to the challenges of affordable, sustainable, and community-oriented living. Approximately 60 exemplary projects by BDA architects and invited colleagues will be presented, forming the framework for several talks on various aspects of quality in housing construction. 

The exhibition HAUPTSACHE WOHNEN focuses on architectural quality, social diversity, and the development of vibrant neighborhoods. The projects on display vividly illustrate the contribution that public and cooperative housing can make to a diverse and socially balanced city.

At the same time, the exhibition is intended as a contribution to the current debate on the future of housing construction. In light of rising housing costs, growing cities, and climate policy challenges, new concepts and innovations are urgently needed: flexible forms of housing, resource-efficient construction methods, the redevelopment of existing stock, and new models of community-based and public-interest-oriented construction.

In the accompanying talks and discussions, we explore what qualities housing construction must embody in the future in order to remain affordable, sustainable, and livable in the long term.

HAUPTSACHE WOHNEN is curated by the Working Group on Professional Policy / Housing Construction at BDA Berlin (curatorial assistant: Friederike Wieczorek).

Opening: July 21, 2026, 7 p.m.
Speakers: Alexander Stöckl, Ingo Malter, Jochen Kellermann (requested) and Prof. Petra Kahlfeldt (requested)

Panel-Talk: August 25, 2026, 7 p.m.