Topping out ceremony for the new STRABAG AG headquarters in Cologne

• ZÜBLIN ensures speedy progress of construction at Siegburger Straße 241
• Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker stresses positive effect on the right-bank neighbourhood of Deutz
• “TEAMS WORK.”: Cologne-based STRABAG Group entities soon to be under the same roof 

STRABAG AG, Germany’s largest transportation infrastructure company, today celebrated the topping out ceremony for its new company headquarters in Cologne-Deutz. The building’s shell is standing, and work can now begin on installing the interior fittings. Over 750 employees of the STRABAG Group and numerous invited guests attended the ceremony as the topping out wreath was raised over the new building and Siegfried Günzel, site foreman from general contractor ZÜBLIN, recited the traditional topping out speech. Henriette Reker, the mayor of Cologne, also attended the ceremony to see first-hand the rapid progression of the works.

The new STRABAG headquarters bears the working title of SIEGI.241, so named after the address Siegburger Str. 241. The five-storey office building, including underground car park with 128 car parking spaces, is being built slightly set off from the road on an area of the STRABAG premises where the canteen and the employee parking lot had previously been located. Fully in keeping with the STRABAG corporate philosophy, the new building is a real “TEAMS WORK.” project. The STRABAG Group is applying its full range of services in all design, build and operate phases of SIEGI.241, including digital design, earthworks, ground engineering, turnkey building construction, building services and facility management.

Marcus Kaller, member of the management board of STRABAG AG: “Everything on this construction site works with BIM, meaning that the works are running smoothly all around. With the topping out ceremony, just seven months after the laying of the cornerstone, we wish to especially thank our exceedingly committed site team for the speedy and accident-free construction progress. The large number of employees present here today is a sign of how much we are looking forward to a more modern and more attractive workplace. We are not only investing € 45 million in a new building, but are also demonstrating live every day what the STRABAG Group has to offer in terms of know-how, performance and team spirit.”

Klaus Pacher, NRW subdivision manager at Ed. Züblin AG, added: “Working on a construction project intended for one’s own colleagues and co-workers is always a special experience. We are proud that we can demonstrate our skill and the application of digital processes in this project.”

Oliver Schirp, head of the real estate department, points to the long history of STRABAG AG in Cologne: “In STRABAG’s history, this new building – almost exactly 60 years after the construction of our central administration building at the same location – is an important step for the future and a clear commitment to Cologne and to Deutz.”

Henriette Reker, the mayor of Cologne, praised the positive development of Cologne-Deutz, which also has considerably benefited from the many years of commitment on the part of STRABAG AG: “STRABAG has been at home in Cologne for more than 70 years and has realised many large projects in this time. This new building and the resulting development opportunities for the space being cleared along Siegburger Straße will help to further enhance the value of southern Deutz. There’s plenty to look forward to. I wish the company continued success in the future here on the right bank of the Rhine.”

SIEGI.241 will be connected to the existing offices that were built in 1996. Together, the two buildings will have enough space for about 1,000 employees from various group entities, such as STRABAG AG, ZÜBLIN, STRABAG Real Estate, SAT and STRABAG BRVZ. The approx. 17,100 m² of gross floor area cover 365 offices, a large foyer, modern meeting areas with video conferencing rooms, think tanks and shared spaces, canteen, kitchenettes, parent/child rooms, fitness room with showers, and the IT data centre. There will also be four rooftop terraces, four inner courtyards and an additional 177 above-ground parking spaces plus 114 partially roofed bicycle parking spaces.

“Upon completion of the new headquarters in the autumn of 2018, the people at STRABAG who give their best every day will discover very good conditions here to continue to bring our philosophy of ‘TEAMS WORK.’ and our values to life. That is our mutual goal,” said Thomas Birtel, CEO of STRABAG SE.

STRABAG project demonstrates the future of building

A central driver of the digital transformation in the construction sector is Building Information Modelling (BIM). BIM digitally networks all of the relevant data across a project’s entire lifecycle. The STRABAG Group has further developed BIM to BIM.5D® and is using it consistently at the SIEGI.241 project in Cologne. BIM.5D complements the tried-and-proven 3D model with the factor of time (4D) and other process data, e.g. costs (5D). This has many advantages: The five-dimensional model shows the changes to the construction project in real time. An actual/target comparison is constantly made between the construction schedule and the actual progress of construction. Deviations from the design are recognised immediately and displayed automatically in the virtual model. The information is immediately available to all participants.

Thanks to BIM.5D, all project participants are always comprehensively informed, networked with the others and have the same information – across the entire building lifecycle. This facilitates a partnership-based working relationship that is at eye level and which creates cost, design and scheduling security.