A forward-looking project: Topping out ceremony for a "lighthouse"

Ober-Ramstadt, 28th September 2015 (DAW) - On the 28th September – one year after starting excavation work at the DAW site – the topping out ceremony for the new multi-storey central office took place in Ober-Ramstadt. The new building is an outstanding example of sustainability and high ecological standards, but at the same time it is also a show-piece building for the products manufactured by DAW and its paint concepts developed according to scientific viewpoints. With this building DAW is underlining its pioneering role in the field of sustainability within the industry. "We are well on schedule," says architect and Manager of the DAW Construction Department, Petra Schmidt, who together with DAW board member, Daniel Weber, represented the building owners. She monitors the progress of consultation work in close consultation with the architects, Brückner and Brückner (Würzburg) and the project control system of Krebs and Kiefer (Darmstadt). She expects that the employees can move into the openly structured group offices on the 400 square-metre levels at the end of 2016. Along with office areas, conference and seminar rooms, the new corporate head office will have a cafeteria available. Visitors to the new building pass through an impressive three-floor foyer to a 400 square-metre hall, the use of which will not be exclusive to company staff as it is intended to serve the community. The foyer connects two building wings and presents itself as a "window on production". Consequently, the close link of the DAW administration and the manufacturing area is highlighted. Through the entrance area, which is glazed on both sides, there is a direct view of the production tower, which is in this way visually enhanced. The building ground plan is reminiscent of the letter Z and the post-and-mullion external facade in stone, wood and glass takes up the basic shape in a number of variants. The rectangular windows, framed in light stone, interleave the storeys together in a Z shape. Therefore, the facade will later appear light and relaxing. The stone originates from the company's own production facility in Netzschkau (Saxony). The balustrade of the external facade, made in wood from German forests, is varnished with DAW products. A specialist office for the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), ee-concept (Darmstadt) which works closely with the Technical University Darmstadt, strictly ensures that building material, the application and energy supply conform to the requirements of sustainability. To achieve this about sixty criteria have to be fulfilled. For example, it is ensured that only pollutant-reduced materials are used. According to calculations which have been made, the primary energy requirement of the new DAW Central Office will be about twenty percent lower than that specified by the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV). This is achieved through using geothermal heat in conjunction with heat pumps and triple-glazed windows with solar-radiation attenuation. Furthermore, building-unit activation is employed to exploit the building mass for temperature regulation. Similarly, cooling panels are used. The impressive courtyard of the new administration offices will have a landscape garden. The flat roofs of the building will be greened over, the water saved and carbon dioxide will be converted into oxygen. Once the move is made to the new building in a year's time, the adjacent existing 1960s building will be comprehensively refurbished and its facade will be made visually similar to the new building with similar energy-saving properties. Both buildings then appear as one with a combined length of 103 metres. All the construction work is to be completed by 2020. The affinity between DAW SE and Ober-Ramstadt is so strong that the company is investing significantly in the location. DAW Chairman of the Managing Board, Dr. Ralf Murjahn: "The location gives us good prospects for further growth and to withstand competition in the future. "The good co-operation with the town of Ober-Ramstadt and the district represents a reliable entity and provides security for entrepreneurial decisions." The new extension building contributes to making us more interesting as an attractive employer and to safeguarding jobs." "The company's success is founded on the high number of competent and committed employees. Good employees need good jobs. Employees should like coming to us and should feel content with us," adds Daniel Weber. Here, the family company places special value on the aspect of sustainability. "We offer a broad palette of emission-minimised and solvent-free paints and primers and other innovative coatings for living and working in a clean, healthy and sustainably designed environment; many of these products are of course used on the new DAW Central Office," says Weber. The design capabilities of the company's own ColorDesignStudio were in demand and it applied its expertise with a great deal of engagement. The fact that sustainability was a central factor during the planning and implementation of the building project is also apparent in the certificate from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) which featured in the planning specification by DAW. Already the construction has been awarded a Silver preliminary certificate and DAW is striving towards the full Gold certificate for the completed project.