Less technology, more building?

Especially in inner-city locations, new buildings face the challenge of reconciling increasing summer heat loads, dense building structures, and high demands on user comfort. The solution is often sought in a further expansion of technical systems. But does more technology actually inevitably lead to better buildings? In the context of the construction of the GEMA Backoffice in Berlin, a different path was deliberately taken. The goal was to achieve the building's performance as much as possible through architecture, material choices, and intelligent building design, and to limit the use of technical systems to the necessary extent.

The low-tech approach was preceded by intensive discussions and extensive investigations. Especially against the backdrop of rising temperatures in urban areas, the question arose as to what extent the challenges of the coming decades can be met through passive measures. Thermal simulations, which considered the development of the site climate until 2045, provided important evidence for design decisions for this.

The findings from these investigations led to individual planning approaches being further developed and adapted right into the construction phase. The result is a building that ensures user comfort not primarily through additional technology, but through the interplay of architecture, material selection, and precisely deployed technical systems. This approach shows that the answer to the challenges of climate change does not necessarily have to lie in increasingly complex technical solutions, but sometimes in a return to the qualities of the building itself.

The project: New headquarters for GEMA

GEMA operates several locations throughout Germany and faced the fundamental decision in Berlin whether to extensively renovate the existing administrative building on Keithstraße or replace it with a new construction. After a thorough economic and ecological assessment, it became clear that the desired project goals could only be achieved to a limited extent with the existing building.

Particularly the client's ambitious sustainability goals brought the question of the building's long-term viability into focus. Although the preservation of the existing building and the associated utilization of the energy already embodied in its materials were initially intensively examined and favored for a long time, investigations showed that the required qualitative, functional, and energy performance requirements would only have been achievable with considerable effort.

At the same time, a building was to be created that meets the future requirements of modern working environments and reduces resource consumption throughout its entire life cycle. Against this background, the decision was made in favor of a new building that could be consistently aligned with sustainability, climate resilience, and long-term flexibility of use.

The planning and implementation of the project took place between 2018 and 2023. After completion of the construction work, GEMA's new headquarters was handed over to the user in 2023.

Objective: Sustainable, economical and fit for long-term use

The new construction of the GEMA Headquarters in Berlin consistently aligned with GEMA's overarching sustainability strategy. The goal was to secure long-term value stability and avoid potential "stranded assets" through early investments in a future-proof and resource-efficient building. Instead of short-term optimizations, the focus was on developing a building that also meets future ecological, technical, and economic requirements.

Sustainability was not understood as an end in itself, but as an integral part of a long-term economic investment. In addition to reducing the ecological footprint, considering the entire life cycle of the building played a significant role. Through robust constructions, durable materials, and a consciously reduced use of technology, operating costs were to be lowered, maintenance expenses minimized, and high predictability achieved throughout the entire service life.

Another central goal was to create timeless and people-oriented working environments. The building should not only meet functional requirements but also offer a comfortable and welcoming environment and focus on the needs of users in the long term. Architecture, material choices, and spatial concept were therefore developed to remain attractive and flexibly usable for many years.

Furthermore, the project aimed to serve as a role model within the real estate and construction industry through its consistent focus on sustainability and innovation. The targeted DGNB Platinum certification, the extensive use of wood as a building material, and the high architectural quality were intended to demonstrate that ecological construction, economic efficiency, and sophisticated design are not opposites but can mutually reinforce each other.

In summary, the following objectives were central:

• Long-term securing of the property's value stability
• Avoidance of future stranded assets through future-proof planning
• Reduction of the ecological footprint over the entire life cycle
• Predictable and permanently low operating and maintenance costs
• Creation of timeless, flexible, and people-oriented working environments
• Realization of a resource-efficient building with an innovative timber construction concept
• Achieving DGNB Platinum certification
• Creation of a flagship project with a pioneering character for sustainable construction and operation of office buildings

Design and construction: integrated and model-based

Already in the early planning phase, an experienced timber construction partner was involved in the project by the architects. The goal was to coordinate the interfaces between architecture, structural engineering, and building services early on and to integrate the special requirements of timber construction into the planning. Model-based collaboration using IFC models formed an essential basis for this. Through the continuous exchange of digital specialist models, individual planning statuses could be transparently coordinated, clashes identified early, and complex connection details between structure, fit-out, and building services efficiently coordinated.

The high degree of prefabrication of the timber construction elements also required detailed planning already in early project phases. This enabled precise manufacturing, shortened assembly times on site, and reduced disruptions to ongoing operations. The close cooperation of all planning participants ensured that technical, design, and economic requirements were equally considered.

The integrated planning approach significantly improved planning reliability, construction quality, and adherence to deadlines. Especially in coordinating the interfaces between timber construction, existing building, and building services, digital model coordination proved to be a decisive success factor.

To ensure the intended low-tech concept, thermal building simulations were already carried out during the planning phase. These served as a basis for the design of the facade, the choice of materials, and the sizing of the technical systems.

Thermal simulation: between sustainability and user comfort

One of the central challenges was to realize a building with the lowest possible use of technology while simultaneously taking into account the expected climatic changes at the site. Extensive thermal simulations investigated how the progressive heating of the urban environment and increasing heatwaves up to the year 2045 would affect user comfort.

The results influenced both the facade design (night cooling via the facade) and the selection of materials used. Building materials with high thermal mass were deliberately chosen, which can absorb heat and release it again with a time delay. These were used not only in sun-exposed areas but also in internal fit-out zones to reduce temperature peaks and stabilize room temperatures.

The simulations also led to the technical concept being reviewed and adjusted during the construction phase. The previously planned system technology was optimized so that it can be used for supplementary cooling on particularly hot days. In this way, the building's resilience to future heat loads could be increased without fundamentally abandoning the originally pursued low-tech approach.

The results: less technology, lower consumption, high comfort

The first years of operation and the experiences during the past summer months confirm the fundamental assumptions of the planning approach.

• Despite rising outdoor temperatures, stable and pleasant room temperatures were achieved in the office areas. The combination of architectural measures, thermally effective materials, and targeted building technology contributes to effectively limiting summer temperature peaks.
• From a user perspective, a positive development is also apparent. Employees appreciate the comfortable working environment.
• Furthermore, the previous operational data confirm the project's energy objectives. Especially regarding heating energy demand, savings compared to conventional office buildings of comparable size are evident. The deliberately reduced use of technology also helps to keep operating and maintenance costs predictable in the long term.
• The project shows that a low-tech approach, combined with an efficient building envelope, careful material selection, and integrated planning, can enable both high user comfort and resource-efficient building operation.

Findings and transferability

The project has shown that the challenges of an increasingly warmer urban climate cannot be solved solely by additional building technology. Rather, the key lies in integrated planning, where architecture, building technology, material selection, and building orientation are coordinated from the outset. The experiences during the past summer months, in particular, have confirmed that the interplay of these factors makes a significant contribution to user comfort and energy efficiency.

A central finding is the importance of simulations in early planning phases. The thermal investigations provided valuable evidence for design decisions and made it possible to incorporate the effects of future climatic developments into planning today. Especially for sustainable building concepts, such simulations should therefore be considered a fixed component of the planning process.

Furthermore, it has been shown that innovative projects require sufficient scope for adjustments during planning and, to a limited extent, even during execution. Many groundbreaking decisions only arise through continuous exchange between the client, planners, and contractors. The willingness to further develop existing concepts based on new findings proved to be a crucial success factor.