Lippstadt, Germany, October 12, 2023. Modern, sustainable, representative – Lippstadt-based international automotive supplier HELLA, which operates as part of the FORVIA brand, is building a new company headquarters in Rixbecker Strasse. All research, development and administration activities will be under one roof in Lippstadt after completion. The new corporate home will be called CELLS (Center for Electronics, Lighting and Lifecycle Solutions). The project includes improvements to the infrastructure and the amenity value throughout the site and measures to achieve carbon-neutral operation. The consulting firm Drees & Sommer SE specializes in advice on construction and real estate. They support HELLA with their expertise in the fields of strategy consulting, space requirement planning and management of the architect selection process. The framework plan for the new headquarters is scheduled to be ready by the end of 2023. If the necessary permits from public authorities are obtained, the first buildings should be completed in 2025.

HELLA’s premises with a total space of around 150,000 square meters are located in the center of Lippstadt, between the historical heart of the city and the campus of the Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences. Major goals of the new design are the improvement of the infrastructure and a better integration of the site with the urban environment. For example, new cycle and pedestrian paths are planned along the tracks of the Westphalian Regional Railway (WLE). The green campus is designed to enhance the amenity value not only for the company's employees, but also for students of the adjacent university, local residents and visitors to the city.

HELLA – Deeply Rooted in Lippstadt

‘In the new design of our headquarters, we are deliberately opening our location for greater public use. In addition to the higher amenity value, we wish to provide our campus as a link between the old town and the university which offers an improved infrastructure. In the course of our project, we are therefore creating facilities such as new pedestrian and cycle paths and attractive green areas. At the same time, our investment marks a commitment to the city of Lippstadt, which is of great importance for the global FORVIA network. We also wish to continue our international success story in Lippstadt by creating a striking campus which benefits the urban environment,’ explains HELLA’s site manager Matthias Wiehen.

Systematic Implementation of Sustainability Goals: CO₂-Neutral Operation, Energy Efficiency and Biodiversity

All parties involved in the redesign of the company headquarters, which is to be operated as a carbon-neutral site in future, are committed to the systematic implementation of sustainability goals. This involves tasks such as opening sealed ground to restore natural drainage, rainwater retention to improve the efficient use of water, a progressive energy supply and generous vegetation of the whole area, including roof surfaces, to promote biodiversity.

Hella’s sustainability goals played a major role in the preselection of the architects. ‘In preparation for the architect selection procedure, we carried out a detailed and transparent analysis to identify a number of architectural bureaus which offer the necessary commercial and technical competence to carry out such an ambitious project’, says Matthias Dammann, who heads the project at Drees & Sommer. The architect selection process considered several well-known names, and the jury consisting of representatives of HELLA and the city of Lippstadt was finally convinced by the renowned Düsseldorf architectural firm RKW Architektur + and the landscape architecture bureau Kraft.Raum.

Analysis of Space Requirement

Drees & Sommer’s Dortmund-based expert team was in charge of coordination and advice on the space requirement planning, before the procedure for selection of the architectural firm started: To meet the overall requirements on the site we met with the responsible personnel of HELLA to determine not only the space required by the individual business divisions for offices, laboratories and special areas, but also the technical demands for the buildings themselves. As a result of this process, the further development of the campus can be planned and implemented on the basis of these spatial needs and building requirements,’ adds Tobias Schröter, team leader in Drees & Sommer’s office in the city of Dortmund.

Ambitious Goals for the Next Steps

In parallel to the design of the urban planning, the architects of RKW + and the different specialist planners are preparing the plans for the first two buildings, scheduled for completion in 2025. The gross floor area of the project in Lippstadt totals around 70,000 square meters.

Lippstadt, Germany, October 12, 2023. Modern, sustainable, representative – Lippstadt-based international automotive supplier HELLA, which operates as part of the FORVIA brand, is building a new company headquarters in Rixbecker Strasse. All research, development and administration activities will be under one roof in Lippstadt after completion. The new corporate home will be called CELLS (Center for Electronics, Lighting and Lifecycle Solutions). The project includes improvements to the infrastructure and the amenity value throughout the site and measures to achieve carbon-neutral operation. The consulting firm Drees & Sommer SE specializes in advice on construction and real estate. They support HELLA with their expertise in the fields of strategy consulting, space requirement planning and management of the architect selection process. The framework plan for the new headquarters is scheduled to be ready by the end of 2023. If the necessary permits from public authorities are obtained, the first buildings should be completed in 2025.

HELLA’s premises with a total space of around 150,000 square meters are located in the center of Lippstadt, between the historical heart of the city and the campus of the Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences. Major goals of the new design are the improvement of the infrastructure and a better integration of the site with the urban environment. For example, new cycle and pedestrian paths are planned along the tracks of the Westphalian Regional Railway (WLE). The green campus is designed to enhance the amenity value not only for the company's employees, but also for students of the adjacent university, local residents and visitors to the city.

HELLA – Deeply Rooted in Lippstadt

‘In the new design of our headquarters, we are deliberately opening our location for greater public use. In addition to the higher amenity value, we wish to provide our campus as a link between the old town and the university which offers an improved infrastructure. In the course of our project, we are therefore creating facilities such as new pedestrian and cycle paths and attractive green areas. At the same time, our investment marks a commitment to the city of Lippstadt, which is of great importance for the global FORVIA network. We also wish to continue our international success story in Lippstadt by creating a striking campus which benefits the urban environment,’ explains HELLA’s site manager Matthias Wiehen.

Systematic Implementation of Sustainability Goals: CO₂-Neutral Operation, Energy Efficiency and Biodiversity

All parties involved in the redesign of the company headquarters, which is to be operated as a carbon-neutral site in future, are committed to the systematic implementation of sustainability goals. This involves tasks such as opening sealed ground to restore natural drainage, rainwater retention to improve the efficient use of water, a progressive energy supply and generous vegetation of the whole area, including roof surfaces, to promote biodiversity.

Hella’s sustainability goals played a major role in the preselection of the architects. ‘In preparation for the architect selection procedure, we carried out a detailed and transparent analysis to identify a number of architectural bureaus which offer the necessary commercial and technical competence to carry out such an ambitious project’, says Matthias Dammann, who heads the project at Drees & Sommer. The architect selection process considered several well-known names, and the jury consisting of representatives of HELLA and the city of Lippstadt was finally convinced by the renowned Düsseldorf architectural firm RKW Architektur + and the landscape architecture bureau Kraft.Raum.

Analysis of Space Requirement

Drees & Sommer’s Dortmund-based expert team was in charge of coordination and advice on the space requirement planning, before the procedure for selection of the architectural firm started: To meet the overall requirements on the site we met with the responsible personnel of HELLA to determine not only the space required by the individual business divisions for offices, laboratories and special areas, but also the technical demands for the buildings themselves. As a result of this process, the further development of the campus can be planned and implemented on the basis of these spatial needs and building requirements,’ adds Tobias Schröter, team leader in Drees & Sommer’s office in the city of Dortmund.

Ambitious Goals for the Next Steps

In parallel to the design of the urban planning, the architects of RKW + and the different specialist planners are preparing the plans for the first two buildings, scheduled for completion in 2025. The gross floor area of the project in Lippstadt totals around 70,000 square meters.

Lippstadt, Germany, October 12, 2023. Modern, sustainable, representative – Lippstadt-based international automotive supplier HELLA, which operates as part of the FORVIA brand, is building a new company headquarters in Rixbecker Strasse. All research, development and administration activities will be under one roof in Lippstadt after completion. The new corporate home will be called CELLS (Center for Electronics, Lighting and Lifecycle Solutions). The project includes improvements to the infrastructure and the amenity value throughout the site and measures to achieve carbon-neutral operation. The consulting firm Drees & Sommer SE specializes in advice on construction and real estate. They support HELLA with their expertise in the fields of strategy consulting, space requirement planning and management of the architect selection process. The framework plan for the new headquarters is scheduled to be ready by the end of 2023. If the necessary permits from public authorities are obtained, the first buildings should be completed in 2025.

HELLA’s premises with a total space of around 150,000 square meters are located in the center of Lippstadt, between the historical heart of the city and the campus of the Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences. Major goals of the new design are the improvement of the infrastructure and a better integration of the site with the urban environment. For example, new cycle and pedestrian paths are planned along the tracks of the Westphalian Regional Railway (WLE). The green campus is designed to enhance the amenity value not only for the company's employees, but also for students of the adjacent university, local residents and visitors to the city.

HELLA – Deeply Rooted in Lippstadt

‘In the new design of our headquarters, we are deliberately opening our location for greater public use. In addition to the higher amenity value, we wish to provide our campus as a link between the old town and the university which offers an improved infrastructure. In the course of our project, we are therefore creating facilities such as new pedestrian and cycle paths and attractive green areas. At the same time, our investment marks a commitment to the city of Lippstadt, which is of great importance for the global FORVIA network. We also wish to continue our international success story in Lippstadt by creating a striking campus which benefits the urban environment,’ explains HELLA’s site manager Matthias Wiehen.

Systematic Implementation of Sustainability Goals: CO₂-Neutral Operation, Energy Efficiency and Biodiversity

All parties involved in the redesign of the company headquarters, which is to be operated as a carbon-neutral site in future, are committed to the systematic implementation of sustainability goals. This involves tasks such as opening sealed ground to restore natural drainage, rainwater retention to improve the efficient use of water, a progressive energy supply and generous vegetation of the whole area, including roof surfaces, to promote biodiversity.

Hella’s sustainability goals played a major role in the preselection of the architects. ‘In preparation for the architect selection procedure, we carried out a detailed and transparent analysis to identify a number of architectural bureaus which offer the necessary commercial and technical competence to carry out such an ambitious project’, says Matthias Dammann, who heads the project at Drees & Sommer. The architect selection process considered several well-known names, and the jury consisting of representatives of HELLA and the city of Lippstadt was finally convinced by the renowned Düsseldorf architectural firm RKW Architektur + and the landscape architecture bureau Kraft.Raum.

Analysis of Space Requirement

Drees & Sommer’s Dortmund-based expert team was in charge of coordination and advice on the space requirement planning, before the procedure for selection of the architectural firm started: To meet the overall requirements on the site we met with the responsible personnel of HELLA to determine not only the space required by the individual business divisions for offices, laboratories and special areas, but also the technical demands for the buildings themselves. As a result of this process, the further development of the campus can be planned and implemented on the basis of these spatial needs and building requirements,’ adds Tobias Schröter, team leader in Drees & Sommer’s office in the city of Dortmund.

Ambitious Goals for the Next Steps

In parallel to the design of the urban planning, the architects of RKW + and the different specialist planners are preparing the plans for the first two buildings, scheduled for completion in 2025. The gross floor area of the project in Lippstadt totals around 70,000 square meters.