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11/22/2011: Michael Zahn awarded Berlin’s most important prize for the preservation of historic buildings and monuments

Frankfurt/Main and Berlin, 22 November 2011. In recognition of his commendable contribution to the care of historic buildings Michael Zahn, CEO of Deutsche Wohnen AG, has been awarded Berlin’s 2011 prize for the conservation of historic monuments. He will receive the Ferdinand von Quast medal today. The Director of Urban Development in Berlin Regula Lüscher will present the award this evening in the Berlin City Hall.

Deutsche Wohnen AG is the majoritarian owner of three of the six Classic Modernist housing estates which have been on the UNESCO world heritage list since 2008. In the view of the Director of Urban Development, Michael Zahn deserves to be awarded the prize in recognition of the long-standing contribution of Deutsche Wohnen to the care of the Modernist estates on UNESCO’s world heritage list.

The Director of Urban Development Regula Lüscher acknowledged the services of Michael Zahn and a further prize winner, the director of COMBAG Comfort Bauten AG, with these words: “Marko Muth and Michael Zahn have acted on behalf of the historic buildings in their care with their company’s own resources and with great personal commitment, tenacity and imagination. They both demonstrate that commercial organisations can be exemplary partners when it comes to the care of historic monuments.”

The Ferdinand von Quast medal has been awarded for the past 25 years. The prize is non-monetary and consists of a medal and a certificate. It was named after Ferdinand von Quast, the first Prussian State Conservationist (1843 to 1877).

To mark the award of the prize Michael Zahn said: “Deutsche Wohnen shows sound judgement and sensitivity in the care of its holdings and demonstrates that conservation and commercial success do not have to be a contradiction in terms. The flats in the UNESCO world heritage sites are practically fully let, which shows that these estates from the 1920s still work and offer a good quality of life today. Deutsche Wohnen AG, together with GEHAG, stands for the closest possible historical, architectural and urban development policy links to Berlin’s Classic Modernist tradition. I too am deeply committed to these estates and, for this reason, am both delighted and proud to receive this award today.”

Deutsche Wohnen AG has many decades of experience in the management of large holdings of rented accommodation. The care and conservation of its properties are a major contributory factor in its success. Deutsche Wohnen AG emerged in its current form from the merger in 2007 of the old Deutsche Wohnen AG with Berlin GEHAG GmbH.

GEHAG GmbH was founded in 1924 as a charitable joint stock company for the financing and construction of housing. The estates and flats built by GEHAG in Berlin in the 1920s set new standards in architecture and urban planning. Consequently, GEHAG GmbH, which is effectively the nucleus of Deutsche Wohnen AG, has almost 90 years of experience in the management of residential properties. Moreover, its focus has always been on care and conservation.

Because of its long-standing links with Classic Modernism Deutsche Wohnen is aware of its responsibility for this unique heritage and has been actively committed for years to the preservation of these Berlin housing estates. Accordingly, extensive refurbishment work has been underway since 2009 on the Hufeisensiedlung, the Weiße Stadt and Siemenstadt. This work will continue until 2014, involving an overall investment of 26 million EURO. Part of this investment sum comes from the Programme for National World Heritage Sites under the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing. Since the joint application for UNESCO world heritage site status Deutsche Wohnen AG has had a close and trusting working relationship in matters of urban district development and conservation with the regional government and with conservationists at regional and local level.

Deutsche Wohnen
Deutsche Wohnen is one of the largest listed residential property companies in Germany with a business focus on managing and developing its residential property portfolio. The portfolio comprises 50,112 units in total, of which 49,664 are residential units and 448 are commercial properties. The Company has 81.84 million shares listed in the Deutsche Börse's MDAX and is also included in the leading indices EPRA/NAREIT and GPR 250.

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