Berlin – 50Hertz, the electricity transmission system operator responsible for the north-east of Germany, is officially moving to its new corporate headquarters - the so-called 50Hertz Netzquartier - in the heart of Berlin. As of tomorrow, the new address is Heidestraße 2. After about five years of planning and construction, involving an architectural competition in 2012/13, the ground breaking and cornerstone ceremonies in 2014 and the topping out ceremony in 2015, some 650 employees will move from their offices in Berlin-Treptow and Berlin-Marzahn to Berlin's Europacity, not far from the Central Station.
According to Boris Schucht, CEO of 50Hertz, the new company headquarters were planned and built to meet all of the company's demands: "Mainly because of the energy transition and the many new challenges it creates, our workforce has grown significantly over the past few years, from almost 700 employees in 2011 to over 950 today. Our current leased offices in Treptow and Marzahn were getting too crowded as a result. Moreover, having staff in multiple buildings did not help the free flow of information and the ever greater need for cross-departmental cooperation. The 50Hertz Netzquartier follows a very open, transparent and communicative office concept of 'co-working' under a single roof at a very attractive location."
The building's interior design was therefore created with the employees' participation. Since the start of the planning, employees were involved in the specific planning and design through workshops and many other forms of dialogue. This ensured a working environment that meets the day-to-day needs at the office as well as encourages openness and cooperation.
The new building, constructed according to ecological and sustainable methods, has 13 aboveground floors and one underground floor. Its floor space totals approximately 24,000 m². Architectural firm "Love architecture and urbanism" from Graz won the architectural competition in 2013 to design the 50Hertz Netzquartier. The interior design was planned by Kinzo Berlin, building contractor Züblin was responsible for the general construction, while the foundation pit was the work of
Porr / Stump Spezialtiefbau. Also included in the new head office is the company's reserve control centre (RCC). Up until now, the centre was located in Marzahn. This site can now be vacated. The security concept for the RCC was therefore a particularly challenging aspect of planning and implementation. The total building cost amounts to 75 million €, 60 million of which were spent on regular construction activities, while 15 million € went to additional building costs and the construction of the RCC.
As a new part of Berlin's Europacity, 50Hertz also wanted to bring its own touch to the developing city quarter around the Central Station. That is why as of 2017, works of art will be regularly put on display in the Netzquartier thanks to the cooperation with the contemporary art museum in the Hamburger Bahnhof. They will be freely accessible to anyone interested - observing certain security measures, obviously. The "Energiebündel" nursery, a service provided by Dussmann KulturKindergarten GmbH, offers at least 20 per cent of its places to children from the nearby area. Furthermore, a publicly accessible part of the building will explain the tasks of a transmission system operator and the challenges of the energy transition to visitors.
With over 950 collaborators, 50Hertz handles the operation and the expansion of the transmission system. Moreover, the company is responsible for managing the overall electrical system throughout the German Laender of Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. As transmission system operator active in the Central European market, 50Hertz is responsible for the secure integration of renewable energy, the development of the European electricity market and for maintaining a high level of security of supply. Since 2010, Belgian grid operator Elia and Australian infrastructure fund IFM Investors are shareholders of 50Hertz, holding stakes of 60% and 40% respectively. As a European transmission system operator, 50Hertz is part of the Elia Group and a member of ENTSO-E, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity.
Press release as PDF.