Drees & Sommer is building a new office building for itself at Obere Waldplätze in Stuttgart, Germany. The net plus energy building meets the highest sustainability standards and is a good example of the company's positive attitude towards climate change. It also led to a special kind of ‘neighborly helping hand’ for a local cycling club.
Brief description
Location:
Stuttgart
Date:
2019 - 2021
Duration/scope:
2019 - 2021
Participants:
Thomas Berner, Sandra Ringat, Lars Müller, Stefanie Fürderer, Dirk Holzmann, Johannes Wiesinger, Fabian Zeilinger, Maren Schulz, Thomas Schneider, Martin Schneider, Jens Walter, Iliya Yanakiev, Marion Müller, Julia Markgraf, Pascal Keppler, Benjamin Depner, Stefan Schwarz, Boris Georgiev, Peter Krieg, Ulrike Schweizer, Sina Faass, Desirée Altenburg, Bernhard Rapp, Barbara Wiesneth, Christoph Göbel
Construction work began in November 2019 on our office building, which is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2021. The new building provides a conference area, a terrace, a cafeteria and a canteen for up to 500 people, on a gross floor area of around 7,000 square meters.
The building is a good example of our positive attitude towards climate change (click here for more), through which we want to give something back to the environment and society – not only during our anniversary year. One of its features is that it was designed as a net plus energy building. This means that it generates more energy while operating than it consumes. This is achieved, for example, by using a highly insulating façade, photovoltaics, geothermal energy and a green façade.
To minimize the consumption of resources and the volume of waste, we rely on the Cradle to Cradle® principle to a large extent. Digital methods – such as building information modeling (BIM) and lean construction management (LCM) – support the planning and construction processes. Digital technologies and modular construction methods are also used in the implementation of the building.
As we are building on the area previously used by the Stuttgart-Vaihingen Cycling Club (RSV), we have been helping to build a new home for the club members in the sports area in Vaihingen-West since 2016. In this context, discussions with the city regarding possible new land plots as well as coordination with the RSV were conducted.
Our colleagues have now donated 50 Cradle to Cradle water bottles to the club for youth work. With many great activities such as bike camps or bike trips to the nearby Black Forest, the people in charge around the chairman Karl-Heinz Liebemann are very committed to introducing children and young people to cycling.
At the moment, the construction site is being influenced by the Corona safety measures for the service providers and colleagues working on site. For example, these include additional accommodation and sanitary containers, seating arrangements in the construction site containers or the implementation of distance and hygiene rules with the corresponding requirements. Specially developed signs and safety vests support these measures.
“A lot of sustainability-related innovations of Drees Sommer are being applied at the Obere Waldplätze 12 building project. That’s another reason why the project is so exciting for us.”
Thomas Berner, Drees & Sommer
