USER CENTRIC Solutions

We connect people, spaces, and technologies.

“How do we create future-ready work, living, learning, and experience environments?”

In short: by thinking about people, spaces, and technologies together—and by focusing from the very beginning on how these environments will ultimately be used and operated. We guide our clients through the entire process, from strategy to real-world implementation.

We help organizations address the following challenges

Strategic Value: The benefits of modern workplaces, learning environments, and customer spaces are often not always easy to quantify. We help demonstrate how your investment supports business strategy, improves organizational performance, strengthen competitiveness, and enhances the experience for employees, customers, and other users.
Profitability and ROI: Measuring the success of modern work environments can be complex. We develop business cases, calculate return on investment (ROI) and lifecycle costs, establish KPIs, governance models, and clear accountability to ensure your investment delivers long-term value.
Space Planning and Investment: Organizations are under increasing pressure to reduce costs while creating flexible, scalable real estate portfolios. We develop space strategies and concepts that maximize efficiency and remain financially sustainable throughout the entire lifecycle.
Organizational Change and Effectiveness: Modern, hybrid work, learning, and customer environments have a proven to have a positive impact on collaboration, organizational culture, and brand perception. However, many organizations struggle to manage the change required to realize these benefits. We design and lead change management programs that build engagement, encourage adoption, and inspire collaborations because successful transformation depends on as much people as it does data.
Operations and Sustainability: Rising occupancy costs, inefficient energy use, and inconsistent service delivery can limit organizational performance. We help create models that are efficient, sustainable, and centered on the needs of users.
Technology and Digitalization: Organizations are under pressure to embrace digital platforms and innovations that will remain relevant in the future. At the same time, they must seamlessly integrate audiovisual systems, IT infrastructure, workplace technologies, AI, and data platforms into existing environments in ways that are secure, scalable, and user-friendly. We help organizations navigate this complexity and implement integrated solutions that support long-term success.

At its core, User Centric Solutions is our approach to consulting, planning, and implementating high performing work, living, and learning environments with people and operations at the center.

Our experts address all of these challenges with integrated solutions. Because anyone aiming to transform physical and digital spaces will not get far with isolated planning.

Instead, we combine expertise in organizational consulting, architecture, digitalization and technology consulting, project management, sustainability, and change management.

Workplace

Create a flexible, modular, and hybrid system with us that equally enhances productivity, collaboration, and well-being.

Future-ready work environments are more than offices. They are tools for productivity, collaboration, and operational excellence.

Talent magnet: Work environments that create identity and foster acceptance through user experience
Space efficiency: Flexible, scalable concepts for activity-based working with optimized utilization and sustainable cost-efficiency
Hybrid collaboration: High-performance technological infrastructure for seamless, accessible hybrid collaboration
Adoption and implementation: Integrated change management to ensure productive use of the new work environment from day one

We think and act holistically and guide you from start to finish: from developing your workplace strategy through concept design, planning, and implementation to introduction, scaling, roll-out, and operations.

Education

Together, we create adaptive and inspiring environments where people can learn, collaborate, and sustainably develop their skills in hybrid settings.

Modern teaching and learning environments must make knowledge more accessible and simplify teaching—on-site and hybrid.

Contemporary learning: Environments that support educators and learners while enabling innovative teaching and learning formats
Hybrid excellence: Interactive presentation, communication, and collaboration technologies for in-person and remote participants in one space
Scalability: Standardized, cost-efficient concepts for sustainable operations and portfolio-wide roll-outs
Enablement and adoption: Integrated change management with targeted training for staff and educators

We develop solutions for hybrid education in modern learning environments—advising you on both strategic alignment and the implementation of innovative teaching formats to ensure long-term, cost-effective operations.

Brand Spaces

Together, we develop consistent, emotionally engaging physical-digital (“phygital”) touchpoints. This creates personal relevance, strengthens brand identity, and enables a seamless customer journey.

Customer and brand loyalty emerge where phygital spaces become measurable brand experiences.

Brand experience: Brand and retail formats that provide orientation, build trust, and support purchasing decisions
Customer journey: Seamless experiences through the integration of physical and digital touchpoints
Technological staging: Innovative technologies for impactful spatial presentation of brands and products
Scalability: Cross-location store concepts and standardized approaches for efficient roll-outs
Operational efficiency: Efficient organization of roll-out and operations

We develop holistic concepts for brand and retail spaces—from planning and implementation to roll-out and operations.

SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

With us, you create immersive, emotional experience spaces that increase fan engagement, strengthen your brand, and enable seamless live and digital experiences.

Modern sports and entertainment environments are far more than venues - they are platforms for emotion, interaction, and identification. Whether live on-site, hybrid, or digital, they connect visitor experience, operations, and monetization into one integrated system.

Fan experience: Holistically designed environments that create proximity, emotion, and identification—before, during, and after events
Immersive staging: Audiovisual and digital technologies for impactful storytelling and presentation of games, shows, and brands
Seamless touchpoints: End-to-end visitor and user experiences through intelligent integration of physical, digital, and mobile touchpoints
Operational and revenue performance: User- and operations-focused concepts for efficient management of operations, safety, hospitality, and monetization
Scalability and future readiness: Standardized, maintainable, and scalable solutions for multifunctional use, seasonal formats, and roll-outs

We support you holistically—from strategic experience and usage definition through concept, planning, and implementation to commissioning, ongoing operations, and continuous development.

HOTEL AND HOSPITALITY

Create personal, seamless, and multisensory experiences that enhance comfort, efficiency, and emotional guest connection at every touchpoint.

True guest experience emerges when comfort, flexibility, and experiential quality are combined with efficient operations—whether in modern hotels, co-working spaces, or event venues.

Guest experience: Comfortable, flexible hospitality and event spaces with distinctive character
Market positioning: From market strategy through concept and planning to roll-out and operations
Digital guest experience: Intelligent information and wayfinding systems, as well as in-room entertainment for greater comfort and security
Multi-format performance: Technology and usage concepts for events, meetings, conferences, and changing formats
Investment security: Sustainable operational concepts for long-term performance and cost-efficiency

We guide you through your entire project—from market positioning to concept, planning, implementation, roll-out, and operations.

COMMAND AND CONTROL

We create high-performance, secure, and intuitive work environments that enable situational decision-making, real-time transparency, and efficient collaboration in critical scenarios.

Modern control rooms, operations centers, and situation centers are the nerve center of organizational capability. They integrate information, technologies, and people into a unified decision and response system—meeting the highest standards of availability, security, and ergonomics around the clock.

Situational awareness: Intelligent visualization and information concepts for a shared, reliable real-time operational picture
Human-machine interaction: Ergonomic, user-centered workstations for sustained high performance in critical operations
Technological resilience: Highly available, secure, and scalable AV, IT, and control room technologies for mission-critical applications
Interdisciplinary collaboration: Spaces and systems that seamlessly connect leadership, analysis, decision-making, and operations—locally, hybrid, and across organizations
Operations and future readiness: Standardized, maintainable concepts with clear strategies for operation, updates, and scalability across the entire lifecycle

We support you holistically throughout your entire project—from strategic needs and requirements analysis through concept, planning, and realization to commissioning, training, operational organization, and continuous development of your command and control environment.

Our Approach

We take an integrated, strategic, and holistic approach partnering with clients from strategy development through implementation and ongoing operations.

People, places, and technology are inseparable and should never be considered in isolation. We take a comprehensive view that integrates people, organizations, environments, digital transformation, and technology to create effective, scalable, and economically sustainable solutions. The result is high-performing environments that deliver exceptional user experiences while supporting long-term business objectives.

Your Added Value

Real Estate and Space Strategy
We provide a clear foundation for decision-making on new construction, modernization, relocations, or portfolio rollouts. Our strategic guidance enables clients to plan with confidence, accelerate decision-making, and optimize investment.
Interior Architecture and Brand Experience
We translate user, customer, and operational requirements into environments that are both functional and inspiring, creating efficient workflows while reinforcing brand identity.
Technology and Digitalization
We integrate modern audiovisual and IT solutions with smart building technologies and data-driven planning to enable better decision making, optimize operations, and create future-ready infrastructure.
Change Management
We support organizational transformation at every stage with clear communication and structured engagement. By involving stakeholders throughout the process, we build understanding, encourage adoption, and help ensure lasting change.
Sustainability and Economic Performance
We align environmental and business objectives across the entire lifecycle to improve sustainability, reduce operating costs, and maximize long-term value.
User Project Management
We manage the entire user-side project lifecycle, from requirements definition and coordination with design and construction teams to change management, relocation, commissioning and operational readiness. This reduces complexity for stakeholders and helps ensure successful project delivery.

Press 19/11/2024

One Room, Kitchen, Contract: Drees & Sommer Supervises New Construction of Staff Housing for Heidelberg University Hospital

Anyone looking for an apartment in Heidelberg needs strong nerves. Over the past 10 years, the supply of rental apartments has fallen by 44 percent . In the midst of this housing crisis, a tried-and-tested solution is coming back into fashion: staff housing. The Gesellschaft für Grund- und Hausbesitz (GGH), the city’s land and property company, is currently building 99 apartments for the employees of Heidelberg University Hospital. © GGH/ Löffler Schmeling Architekten

Heidelberg, Germany, November 19, 2024. Heidelberg-based Gesellschaft für Grund- und Hausbesitz mbH (GGH) is currently building 99 apartments for the employees of Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) nearby Neuenheimer Feld. Drees & Sommer SE, a company which specializes in construction and real estate, supports GGH with its services in this project. The shell work was completed at the end of October, with the new tenants due to move into the apartments in June 2025. A total of 3,170 square meters of living space will be created on the 4,500 square meter site, spread over five detached L-shaped buildings, each two to three-stories high. The 99 apartments are mainly designed as one-bedroom apartments with 25 to 30 square meters of living space, together with their own bathroom and kitchenette.

Once construction is completed in May 2025, UKHD will lease and manage the 99 apartments. GGH remains responsible for the roof and structure, and thus for the maintenance and repair of the buildings. "This project enables us to create affordable living space for university hospital employees. In this way we are actively contributing to ensuring a supply of skilled workers in our city," explains GGH Managing Director Peter Bresinski. In order to meet its own objective of sustainable construction methods, GGH is focusing on modular timber hybrid construction. 

The Root of all Building

Timber has a long tradition as a building material. Although now replaced by concrete and cement, it is drawing increased attention again in view of climate change and the lack of resources.

As a renewable raw material that is available locally and stores CO₂, the life cycle assessment of wood is very good. Combined with its excellent thermal, structural and weatherproofing properties, wood is an outstanding building material. A further advantage is that wood is easy to process and enables modules to be prefabricated quickly and precisely. The individual elements are prefabricated in a manufacturing facility and in series. This ensures consistently high quality for each of the components, as the modules can be produced with millimeter precision. It also makes work on the building site quicker and easier: instead of installing each element as small-scale operations in the rain, snow and cold, complete system components for walls, ceilings and bathrooms are delivered. They are then simply joined together on the building site. 

Everything on Schedule with Lean Construction Management

The construction process needs to be efficient so that tenants can move into the apartments in the summer. Drees & Sommer project head Benjamin Depner provides project management services to the client GGH. The project manager applies the principles of lean management In order to complete the construction project in line with the timescales. The method is borrowed from the automotive industry: automakers know exactly when there is a fault in the precisely timed production process. On a conventional building site, on the other hand, defects often go unnoticed for a long time, leading to subsequent errors.  “The lean construction management method we have developed transfers the automotive industry approach to construction projects," explains Benjamin Depner. "The key element is detailed project progress planning that is scheduled exactly to the day. This clearly defines when which employees, machines and construction materials are needed at which location and at what time.” This results in a significant acceleration of work processes and an efficient building site.

Housing for Employees as an Advantage of the Location

For Andreas Kieb, housing expert at Drees & Sommer, the GGH solution could soon serve as a model: “Staff housing is more than just a fringe benefit. It is an important aspect of a location, especially in regions with high competitive pressure for skilled workers. A good supply of housing could be the deciding factor in whether a potential employee decides for or against a company.“ To reduce existing obstacles, the expert recommends a priority system based on the example of Munich. That city promises preferential approval for commercial sites to firms that build company-owned apartments. It would also be helpful to convert mixed-use areas into urban areas.  However, implementing staff housing on a broad scale is still anything but easy: “Building houses takes time and requires local authorities and companies to act jointly,“ says Andreas Kieb. “However, companies can significantly reduce the cost of staff housing already today by taking advantage of subsidy programs and tax breaks. The effort for this always pays off in the long term.“ 

Simon Wieland, staff housing expert and project head at the research institute RegioKontext, confirms this development: “When the topic came up again about ten years ago, a rethink was initially needed. Many people still had the image of old company-owned apartments in mind: drab, gray and right next to the factories.” But this image is a thing of the past, in his view. “From our many years of consulting experience with employers, associations and the public sector, we know that staff housing combines elements of conventional company-owned housing with contemporary aspects such as modern floor layout, affordable prices and flexible models. Employers who have grasped that wage supplements do not build homes benefit from this,” continues the project head. 

Ultimately, it is not only companies and their employees that benefit, but also the public sector: staff housing strengthens local economic cycles and helps to create affordable, needs-based residential space locally.