Key facts at a glance:
- Challenge: Modernization of a 1980s office complex (construction phase 2); 8,500 sqm over six floors; ready for turnkey handover to the Migration and Integration Office (AMI) of Düsseldorf.
- Special features: Just one week between commissioning and the start of the project; numerous change orders; realization of tenant specifications; considerable security technology demands.
- Approach: General contracting with organization on short notice and close scheduling of all technical crews; high flexibility; intensive quality control.
- Design: Architektur Team, Dortmund
- Projektsteuerung: Drees & Sommer.
Before: dark mail room. After: light-filled open-plan office. Extensive windows were cut out of the concrete wall. New technical systems, including air-conditioning, were concealed above a suspended ceiling.
For such an elaborate commission, there was only a short preliminary phase: the modernization of the 1980s-era complex was to begin in one week. The Migration and Integration Office wanted to move in just a half year later.
Straightaway, Schwitzke Project organized the subcontractors and planned all of the processes. It was critical that the rapid pace didn’t compromise quality.
The key: progressing floor by floor. One level was inspected and defects removed while work advanced in parallel on the next.
More than 300 rooms underwent a fundamental transformation – in terms of their architecture, technology, and plumbing and heating systems. Ceilings, walls, and floors were refurbished over an area of 8,500 sqm. More than 400 doors were specially manufactured, installed, or improved. And specific security requirements were met – from electronic access controls to automatic locking and opening mechanisms.
The result? Only about one defect per room! Very impressive in light of the project’s challenges. Yet not so surprising when one has a clear plan.