ZÜBLIN to design and build new public administration centre for Dresden

• Design-and-build contract awarded by the city of Dresden to consortium of ZÜBLIN and Dreßler Bau
• Architectural showpiece with three-part façade structure to blend harmoniously into the cityscape
• New seven-storey building with underground car park on two levels to be completed in the spring of 2025

Vienna/Dresden, 19 April 2021 Design and construction from a single source: STRABAG subsidiary ZÜBLIN and Dreßler Bau GmbH are working together as management contractors in a consortium to realise the new public administration headquarters in the heart of Dresden. The design-and-build contract, which will leave its mark on the Dresden cityscape, was awarded by Kommunale Immobilien Dresden GmbH & Co. KG with a fixed lump sum price of € 116 million. The project is based on a design by the architectural firms Barcode Architects (Rotterdam) and Tchoban Voss Architekten (Hamburg/Dresden). The contract has now been ceremoniously signed and the consortium of ZÜBLIN (66 %) and Dreßler Bau (34 %) will begin realising the striking 33 metre administration building at Ferdinandplatz scheduled for completion within a period of about four years. The detailed design phase is currently underway, to be followed by a three-year construction period from spring 2022 until late March 2025. The project will be preceded by archaeological excavations commissioned by the city of Dresden. The preparation of the excavation pit will be put out to tender separately.

“We are proud that, together with our partners, we were able to prevail in the competition for this prestigious project and that the city of Dresden has chosen to place its trust in ZÜBLIN’s expertise starting already with the building design. It is an honour to have been awarded this new design-and-build contract for such an architecturally challenging building, one which will play a decisive role in shaping Dresden’s cityscape in the future,” says Thomas Birtel, CEO of STRABAG SE.

Central office for citizen services
The new public administration centre will have a gross floor area of 33,500 m² distributed over seven above-ground floors with an asymmetrical floor plan and two underground parking levels. The city plans to consolidate several offices currently scattered around Dresden at one easily accessible, central location. This will provide citizens with a central office and short distances for property matters, building permits or issues concerning mobility and climate protection. The Economic Development Department and the Lost Property Office will also move into the new building. The new facility will be a workplace for around 1,350 city employees on an above-ground floor space of 16,700 m².

Open entrance area planned as a community space
The new administration building will feature a striking, three-part façade with colourfully contrasting upper floors and large expanses of glass on the two lower levels, providing a strong visual contrast to the light limestone grid characterising the central part of the building. A particularly eye-catching feature is a central opening in the façade, like a large window looking onto the town hall opposite the new building. Two large, green inner courtyards are planned to create a light atmosphere on the office floors by breaking up the compact structure of the building. The flat roof will be extensively landscaped as part of the sustainability concept.

The greatest challenge for the project team, according to construction manager Frank Hübner from ZÜBLIN’s Saxony Business Unit, is the implementation of the elaborate and spacious entrance area extending over two levels. The foyer, featuring wood, natural stone, an open staircase and extensive glass, was designed as a “living room for the city” and a meeting place for citizens and the public administration. A restaurant with a terrace and an espresso bar are also included in order to emphasise the welcoming character of the building. The five upper office floors can be flexibly designed as open workspaces with team areas or as classic offices. The underground car park in the two basement levels will offer parking spaces for cars and bicycles.