DEG hosts topping-out ceremony of its extension building in Cologne city centre

• Additional office space for another 120 workspaces
• Completion scheduled for end of 2017

COLOGNE, 13-Sep-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — The shell of DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH’s extension building in the city centre of Cologne is now complete. The topping-out ceremony was held in the Agrippastrasse on Monday, 12 September 2016. “Over the past few years, DEG has developed and experienced dynamic growth. That’s why we’re glad we’ll soon be able to offer our staff further office space just across from our main building,” said Bruno Wenn, Chairman of DEG’s Management Board.

The ceremony was attended by, among others, the Chairman of DEG’s Supervisory Board Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Dr Norbert Kloppenburg, Member of the Executive Board of KfW. The city of Cologne was represented by deputy mayor Elfi Scho-Antwerpes. DEG had commissioned the Cologne-based branch of MBN Bau AG for the structural engineering.

Glass “Skybox” as a distinctive feature

The extension building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017 and will accommodate around another 120 workspaces. The architects’ office slapa oberholz pszczulny | sop architekten from Düsseldorf designed the building that will comprise five storeys, 660 square metres per floor. The architectural design incorporates design elements of DEG’s main building and features a glass facade broken up by projections and recesses. The glass “Skybox” will be a striking distinctive feature of the extension: occupying around 200 square metres, erected on the Agrippastrasse / Nord-Süd-Fahrt corner above the fourth floor and surrounded by green roof areas. The head offices and the extension building will be linked by a visually attractive underground passage-way.

The city’s Roman-Germanic museum has been involved in the building project to secure historic artefacts including the remains of two second century Roman potter’s kilns as well as jewellery, oil lamps and combs made from animal bones.

Commitment to volunteer work

Before the construction work started, DEG had made the “new talents – temporary art tower” in the existing building in Aggripastraße available for temporary cultural use, offering young people in Cologne space to be creative. “As one of the larger companies in Cologne we are aware of our corporate social responsibility. That’s why we focus on supporting cultural and social institutions in the city,” explained Chairman of DEG, Wenn. At the start of September DEG – as the only company – was presented with the volunteer award for its work as part of local volunteer event “Kölner Freiwilligentage” by the city of Cologne.

DEG has been based in the cathedral city of Cologne since its foundation in 1962 and today it is one of Europe’s largest development finance institutions. In the past year alone, DEG committed EUR 1.1 billion for investments by enterprises in developing and emerging-market countries.

DEG Press Office

Kämmergasse 22
50676 Cologne
Germany

Phone
+49 221 4986 1474

Fax
+49 221 4986 1843

eMail
presse@deginvest.de

SOURCE: DEG