Catastrophic fire - In October 2007, the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, Germany, was once again opened up to the public after a catastrophic fire that had raged through the building in 2004. The fire had destroyed large parts of the roof structure and the attic. The celebrated Rococo Hall had also been severly damaged.

Unexpected drama - Drees & Sommer had already been entrusted with constructing an extension to the Study Centre in 1999, and after the initial rescue operation, their experts took over project control for the restoration process as well. The goal was to reopen the library in 2007, the bicentenary of the death of Duchess Anna Amalia. Besides the actual fire damage, the spaces affected by the water used to extinguish the fire also had to be restored, and this included the worldfamous Rococo Hall with its fine wood paneled walls.

Punctual reopening - The project managers coordinated the immediate steps and reworked the original project to take account of the fire damage. One of the other goals of restoring the historical building was to completely dry out the substance of the structure within the narrow time limits imposed. In spite of all this complicated restoration work, all the deadlines as well as the cost estimates of 12.5 million Euros were still adhered to.