Built with BIM - the inaugurated campus in Zug

„Siemens is now one of the largest employers in Switzerland. We employ almost 6,000 colleagues here, including around 300 apprentices," said Joe Kaeser, CEO of Siemens AG. "Zug-based Building Services will benefit more than almost any other industry from industrial automation and digitalization. Next year, Building Services will become a core element of the new Smart Infrastructure (SI) Operating Company. Its global headquarters will then also be here in Zug."

A smart building is flexible

Zug has been the site of Siemens Building Technologies (BT) since 1998. At that time, Siemens took over the industrial activities of the Swiss Elektrowatt AG. "With our investments in research and development, we are taking advantage of the opportunities presented by digitalization to consistently develop further into a Smart Building Company," said Matthias Rebellius, CEO Siemens Building Technologies. "We offer the complete range of building technologies for fire detection, security and automation solutions to optimize sustainability, total cost of ownership and user experience in buildings. Smart buildings are based on the comprehensive analysis and use of digital building data." Rebellius called the new campus a reference for the opportunities of digitalization in building technology, for energy efficiency and for future-oriented work. "A smart building is flexible, it learns from previous interactions, it constantly adapts to the requirements of building users and thus actively contributes to their success."

Realized according to BIM

The construction period for the office and production buildings ran from May 2016 to July 2018. Anyone like Siemens who talks a lot and likes to talk about Building Information Modeling (BIM) is expected to lead by example. The new Zug campus is one of the first new construction projects to use the BIM method in planning and implementation. The digital twin, a 3D model of the building, enriched with technical information relevant to subsequent operation, is the basis for efficient, cost-optimized and forward-looking management of a building, the company emphasizes.

The campus complex is, of course, equipped with building automation, security and fire protection technology from the company's own production. Christoph Leitgeb, General Manager of New Siemens Campus, emphasized that particular importance was attached to the sustainability and energy efficiency of the buildings. According to him, the office building meets the highest standards in accordance with the LEED-standard and received platinum certification, and the manufacturing building meets the criteria for gold certification under the LEED standard. Such a building is environmentally friendly, as the following points show: An integrated building automation system with energy optimization controls energy consumption and all building services. Energy-efficient heat pumps use water from Lake Zug as a heat source or for cooling. Fossil fuels are not required by the campus buildings for energy generation. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems are equipped with heat and cold recovery systems. Even the air handling units in production are equipped with an energy recovery system for water heating. The roof surfaces are greened, and around 1,500 cubic meters of rainwater are used in the office building. In spring 2019, a photovoltaic system will go into operation on the roof of the production building.

The office building with a footprint of 56 x 56 meters provides space for 1,000 employees on seven floors. It has a gross floor area of 32,000 m2, including 18,400 m2 of office space and 11,000 m2 in the two-story underground parking garage with 250 spaces. The building height is 25 meters.

Production of fire protection and safety products

The three-story production building with a floor area of 125 x 50 meters has two production floors. Among other things, Siemens' fire protection and safety products are manufactured here in 3-shift operation. For example, the company produces 2.4 million smoke detectors annually at this location.

In addition to 120 office workplaces, the second floor of the 16-meter-high structure contains further space for vocational training and laboratories. Delivery, nitrogen tanks and waste containers are integrated into the building to minimize noise pollution for adjacent residential buildings and create an architecturally appealing appearance.

The campus also includes an existing office and production building, which will be modernized in 2021 and then house BT's approximately 450 research and development employees from the end of 2022. The current Siemens office building will be taken over by the city of Zug.

International Headquarters

The Siemens Campus Zug is the international headquarters of the Siemens Building Technologies Division. The BT Division is a developer and provider of products, system solutions and services in the fields of building automation, energy efficiency, fire protection and security; it also sees itself as a pioneer in the digitization of buildings.

According to data, in 2018 Building Technologies had around 29,000 employees working at more than 400 sites worldwide and generated sales of €6.6 billion. BT has been based in Zug since it acquired Elektrowatt's industrial operations in 1998. Today, 1,700 employees work for BT in Zug, Siemens further wrote.    (Press release / rs)