An existing low-rise building was to be extended to expand a printing house. That was an opportunity to improve the graphic design and office workstations already housed there at the same time. The company also wanted to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection in this measure, as it is an advertising selling point beyond the printing process. The energy requirements were set high together with the objective to optimise workspace comfort for the employees.

As in many open-plan offices built in the sixties and seventies, the climate in the low-rise building was never particularly pleasant, neither in summer nor in winter. The workspaces were difficult to ventilate and to provide with natural light. The heat from the artificial lighting increased the room temperature. The copious equipment required for “pre-press” work not only heated the air, but also polluted it. Opening windows was the only way to intervene. In order to make the working conditions reasonably bearable in summer, split unit air conditioners had been retrofitted in some areas.

The overall concept developed for refurbishment and extension solved these problems and provides a convincing solution from a design and functional point of view. Using waste heat from machines to heat the building and ventilate it, combined with surface cooling via borehole heat exchangers make working conditions far more comfortable with lower energy consumption. Ample glazing with external sun protection allows better use of daylight.
The key criterion for all decisions was the aim of increasing occupant comfort. Both the initial investment and the operating costs were taken into account for financial evaluation.

The refurbishment was planned in 2004 and implemented one year later by a general contractor. Since then, the energy balance of the building has been tracked precisely. As part of its “Energy-oriented refurbishment of building fabric” research area, the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology promotes the recording and evaluation of the measurements of the ambitious project.