The I/D Cologne urban district has reached another milestone in its implementation. The joint venture of Art-Invest Real Estate and OSMAB has received planning permission for the office project Das Stellwerk. The project is the eighth of a total of eleven planned buildings on the campus site, which spans around seven hectares. Following completion, the new building will provide lettable space of approximately 23,000 square metres for modern office workstations and gastronomy.
The seven-storey structure will be constructed largely as a solid-timber building. Only the structural cores of the stairwells, the lift shafts and the basement with the underground car park will be made from conventional building materials. All other load-bearing and space-defining elements consist of renewable timber. The structural design follows circular economy principles: all timber elements can be dismantled at the end of the building's service life and reused for subsequent housing projects or furniture production.
Resource efficiency and open space planning
Compared to conventional reinforced concrete buildings, the project's average greenhouse gas emissions across its entire life cycle are reduced by around one-third per square metre. The material also shapes the interior design and is intended to foster a comfortable indoor climate. In addition, the plans include a site-specific rainwater concept where precipitation is collected via retention areas and a dedicated cistern to irrigate the site's green areas.
- —Three landscaped courtyards with mature trees and outdoor working facilities
- —Spacious roof terrace with sightlines towards the Rhine and the city of Cologne
- —Photovoltaic system on the roof areas for sustainable on-site electricity generation
- —Underground car park with 160 car parking spaces, bicycle storage facilities and integrated charging infrastructure
A multifunctional foyer is planned on the ground floor of the building, providing space for gastronomic uses such as a bistro or a cafeteria. Numerous terraces on various levels extend the working environment into the outdoors and create additional amenity value for future occupants.
Development progress in the district
Arne Hilbert, Managing Director and Head of the NRW branch at Art-Invest Real Estate, sees the construction project as an essential component for the overall district and a valuable gain in experience in handling timber as a load-bearing resource. Holger Kirchhof, Managing Director of OSMAB for the I/D Cologne project companies, described the scheme as a contemporary continuation of the previous seven construction phases. The project reflects the technological advancement achieved since the district's launch twelve years ago and is intended to serve as a reference project for future commercial timber construction schemes.
