Just six months after the foundation stone was laid, the shell of what is currently the largest landmark project is already entering the home stretch: The new data center for the North Rhine-Westphalia State Finance Administration (RZF), a building complex covering around 37,000 square meters, is well on track for completion on schedule.
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One reason for this is the excellent cooperation between all parties involved. "I am absolutely thrilled with the collaboration between Landmarken and ZECH, thanks to which we will be able to provide the North Rhine-Westphalia tax authorities with a truly magnificent building," says Olaf Demuth, CEO of the ZECH Group, which, as general contractor, is doing an outstanding job of implementing the construction work together with ICT Facilities.
And Landmarken CEO Jens Kreiterling added during the laying of the foundation stone last October: "The tax office is a truly outstanding example of cooperation between the public and private sectors. I can only recommend that this potential for good partnership be exploited in the future as well."
"With this state-of-the-art new building, we are creating excellent working conditions for our IT professionals and fulfilling our responsibility for environmental and climate protection by setting high standards for sustainability. The RZF will be a beacon for the digital, citizen-friendly tax administration of the future."
Dr. Marcus Optendrenk / Minister of Finance of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
The new data center will become the digital backbone of financial administration
The new building complex in Kaarst, just a stone's throw from Düsseldorf, will offer space for offices and meeting rooms, warehouses and workshops, a print shop, and a cafeteria in addition to the data center. In addition, there will be 370 parking spaces in a multi-storey car park, an outdoor parking area, e-charging stations for company vehicles, and over 250 bicycle parking spaces. In the future, around 1,000 state employees will work in the building, for whom the building concept offers attractive workplaces. "The new data center in Kaarst will be the digital backbone of our financial administration," says Dr. Marcus Optendrenk, Minister of Finance of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
A backbone that is characterized by exceptional sustainability: The state of North Rhine-Westphalia has set itself the goal of achieving a climate-neutral state administration by 2030. The new data center for financial administration will make an important contribution to achieving this ambitious climate protection goal, because apart from a few peak loads, the complex will be operated in a CO2-neutral manner. One of the reasons for this is the use of geothermal energy to supply heating and cooling. To this end, around 50 geothermal probes were installed at a depth of approximately 150 m during drilling in February.
Apart from a few peak loads, the ensemble is operated in a CO²-neutral manner
In order to calculate the optimal energy design in advance, the heating and cooling requirements were determined using a complex technical simulation with realistic weather data. The energy systems were designed accordingly: The facility is operated using heat pumps, for which part of the required electricity is generated by a photovoltaic system on the roof. By using green electricity supplied by the state-owned building and real estate company (BLB NRW), the new building is largely climate-neutral.
After the drilling for geothermal energy was completed at the beginning of March, the TGA installations, e.g., for ventilation, drainage, and cables, are now underway in the shell construction, as is the window work on the exterior. The technical commissioning of the data center is planned for July 2025, with completion of the new building complex scheduled for 2026.
