A joint venture between Bauwens Development and HOCHTIEF Projektentwicklung will be constructing an office property with a net floor area of around 14,400 m² in the "University quarter―grüne mitte Essen" (Essen's green center).
The health insurer AOK Rhineland/Hamburg has taken out a long-term lease off-plan for the entire building, to house its regional headquarters and other central specialist departments. This is the biggest individual lease in Essen since 2009. Preparations for construction work are due to get under way in November 2011 and completion is scheduled for Q2 2013.
A flexibly divisible office property with five above-ground levels and a floor area of just under 18,000 m² will be constructed on a roughly 7,000 m² site at the entrance to the "University quarter―grüne mitte Essen" urban development. Storage space and 84 car parking slots will be created at basement level. The public underground car park will also be accessible via two entrances outside the building. A further 41 parking slots will be created above-ground on the site. The main entrance faces Berliner Platz and thus integrates the building into the pedestrian precinct in downtown Essen.
The entire space on the barrier-free ground floor can be used: glass elements in the facades and generous skylights in the central section mean that the entire level has natural light. The office areas will be arranged around the atrium on four floors―three standard and one set back. The building is designed to be sustainable: the rooms, for example, will be cooled in an energy saving way with concrete core temperature control. The developer is aiming to obtain certification for the building from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB).
Source: Hochtief
