February 2023

The academies of science acatech, Leopoldina and the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities have published an impulse paper entitled "Are blackouts in Germany likely? The researchers assume that "major power failures up to and including blackouts" are "unlikely" in Germany. However, they outline four measures to reduce the risks of large-scale blackouts in Germany.

Students can lose their entitlement to housing allowance if they take longer than necessary to complete their studies. This has now been decided by the Administrative Court of Berlin (VG 21 K 144/22). In the case at hand, a student who applied for housing allowance was in her 14th semester of studies and in her 20th semester of higher education. The application for housing allowance was rejected by the housing allowance authority of the...

Attention to detail, comfort and natural materials - according to the associations of the German furniture industry (VDM/VHK), these characteristics will be the trend in furniture in 2023. Modular solutions that allow numerous options are also in vogue. In terms of color choice, for example, the wood types ash and elm are currently being used with light colors such as white, beige or sand or powdery...

Wages rose faster than rents on average in Germany between 2015 and 2021. This is the result of the study on the "Affordability of Rents" by the Haus und Grund association. According to the study, the wages of full-time employees subject to social insurance contributions rose by a median of 14.2 percent to €3,525 over the period. In the same period, existing rents rose by 7.3 percent to 7.32...

The German Architecture Award 2023 is being offered by the Federal Ministry of Construction and the Chamber of Architects. Proposals for exemplary buildings or building ensembles can be submitted until 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29. These must have been built in Germany between January 1, 2021 and January 15, 2023. Proposals for buildings or building ensembles abroad can also be...