During the reform of the Brandenburg districts in 1993, the German district of Barnim was reformed. This led to a consolidation of the administration, which previously had been spread out across several locations in the city, in a new and central administrative building. Following a three-year planning and construction phase, the building complex for the local authorities and federal state parliament was erected and officially opened in the historic city centre of Eberswalde in 2007. Named after the local Eberswalde artist Paul Wunderlich, it also houses one of the world’s largest Wunderlich exhibitions. The building chiefly functions as the Barnim Service and Administration Centre.

From the very outset, energy-efficiency and sustainability were important criteria, integrated as early as in 2003 in the European-wide interdisciplinary tender. At the early design stage, the planning team cooperated with the builder on facility management issues in order to later operate the building economically in terms of costs and resources. Specialist planners necessary for the building’s energy concept were brought in at an early stage and simulations were conducted that went beyond the usual planning expense. A flexible, energy-efficient and zone-regulated floor-standing lamp was also developed which guarantees the general lighting as well as the workplace lighting in the offices.

An important planning objective was to take into account the energy standards of the Energy-Optimised Construction (EnOB) support initiative: limiting the annual primary energy requirement for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting and auxiliary energy to a maximum of 100 kWh/m² p.a. Today, this objective is reached in operation. The optimisation process of the building operation has yet to be terminated, allowing for further future reductions in the primary energy consumption.

The scientific measurement programme as well as the increased planning expense and innovative technologies were sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The energy consumption from heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting as well as numerous parameters were measured and then evaluated with the aim of controlling the technical operation in an optimal manner. First results of the monitoring process are now available, leading to individual building components being optimised.