1980-1985: First structures for sustained growth

First structures for sustained growth
First structures for sustained growth

Organization

First structures for sustained growth
The 1980s begins with the move into Lenzhalde 40 - a beautiful villa in which we gradually conquered room after room. Then the employees install their dream: the first Digital Equipment PDP 11 with multiuser system. Suddenly, costing and cost monitoring can be undertaken without tedious entry by means of punch cards.
In the meantime the maximum of employees - adjusted to 36 some time ago - has long been far exceeded with 60 employees. Growth has accelerated thank so to the tools purchased, expertise gained and good references. Now the increased number of employees and the various offices require the first organizational measures. The solution is the office partner model: individual shareholders are responsible for a certain number of employees and organize their work. Although this organization works well because of the number of employees is still manageable, efficiency begins to drop.

  • 1980 Drees & Sommer GbR (partnership) moves to Lenzhalde 40, Stuttgart
  • Foundation of DS-Plan building consulting and planning company
  • 1985 Hamburg office opens
  • 60 employees
  • Doubling of annual budget to DM 7.5 million in only three years

Focuses

Determining and cutting operating costs
At the beginning of the 1980s, the advances in software-based schedule and cost planning lead to an upswing for the company: Project control is finally accepted in the market.
In the next logical step in development, Drees & Sommer starts to scrutinize building operating costs.
This quickly reveals the close relationship between planning, investment and operating costs. It shows that many designs lead to indefensibly high operating costs. Based on these findings, Drees & Sommer develops a new service: economy consulting. Project control becomes project management, no longer merely responsible for adherence to cost and budget, but also for economical construction. The term building utilization costs is coined: The most  economical solution is the one with the lowest life-cycle costs. In this context, Drees & Sommer also introduces building optimization.

  • 1981 State Central Bank, Ulm
  • 1983 IGA ´83 Munich (International Garden Exhibition), Colonia Cologne
  • 1984 Yanbu Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, Brackenheim district hospital, shopping center in Bochum, Schloemann-Siemag Düsseldorf, Süddeutscher Verlag printing works in Munich, Badische Kommunale Landesbank, Mannheim
  • 1985 Heinrich-Hübsch School in Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe Civic Center, International Stadium, Riyadh