Investigation of office buildings in full operation
Development of refurbishment solutions and concepts for frequently occurring weak points and problems in the existing building
Implementation of the refurbishment concepts developed
The majority of office and administration buildings in the Federal Republic of Germany date back to a phase of increased construction activity in the 1950s to 1970s.
Today, many of the building components of these buildings, such as building services and façade systems, are reaching the end of their useful life. In addition, the fire protection, use-related, building physics, energy and construction requirements as well as the workplace infrastructure have changed, in some cases significantly, as a result of new working environments (teamwork, etc.) and communication technology.
A fundamental refurbishment and revitalization of this old building stock enables it to be upgraded to the standard of a new building and represents a cost-effective solution that conserves the environment and resources.
In contrast to the preservation of historic buildings, there is hardly any generalizable and widely accessible experience and concepts of a universal nature for the refurbishment of office and administrative buildings from the 1950s to 1970s.
As part of the research project "PROsab - Energy-efficient and comfortable refurbishment of office buildings" funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), around 15 office buildings are to be examined. Typical office buildings from the 1950s to 1970s will be examined in full operation and concepts for the refurbishment of the buildings under consideration will be developed as part of a feasibility study by means of a detailed building analysis and the development of individual solution approaches. The concepts are to be implemented in a follow-up project.
The primary aim of the concepts is to achieve the standard of a new building for the old buildings in architectural, technical and economic terms, while at the same time making sensible use of the existing structure.
Enhancement of the architectural appearance
Creation of new working environments and office structures
Increasing the proportion of usable space and optimizing space
Improving comfort and increasing workplace quality
Reduction in energy consumption and operating costs
Finally, the results of the project are compiled in a comprehensive refurbishment catalog which, in addition to existing guidelines and directives, provides practical recommendations for action, solutions and concept examples for the refurbishment of office buildings built between 1950 and 1980.