Serial and modular construction: Construction costs can be reduced by up to 40 percent

In addition to digitizing and simplifying the construction process, as with “building type E,” there are currently high hopes for serial and modular construction to reduce construction costs by up to 40 percent overall. A good example that combines all these approaches is the “Zero” in Stuttgart-Möhringen, which was purchased a few weeks ago. The five-story office building offers 400 workplaces on 14,200 square meters. The client was Sindelfingen EEW GmbH, which has been developing and marketing objects for decades. “Our goal was to build as sustainably as possible,” says authorized signatory Patrick Schumann. As the owner's son, the 27-year-old business economist had good opportunities to set new standards here.
In addition to the serial modular timber construction, the project is based on a high degree of self-sufficiency through a 170 kWp PV system and an ice storage tank with a water volume of 400 cubic meters. The building technology was streamlined and not designed for peak loads. “In our canteen, for example, we open doors and windows when 200 people eat at the same time, and then only for 20 minutes,” explains Schumann. The building technology was simulated with forecasts for weather data that extend up to 2045. “The project required convincing arguments from bankers, tax advisors and lawyers, as the real estate sector is very conservative. ”

Energy-efficient construction: “Zero” office building uses only a third of normal building energy

Such details are typical of the “simple construction” that Stefan Leupertz has been trying to make legally secure for years in order to make innovations possible again and reduce costs by up to 30.40 percent. Until 2012, the qualified lawyer was a judge at the Federal Court of Construction Law and has been a construction dispute manager ever since. He also advises associations on deregulation in order to be allowed to deviate from standards if all parties involved agree: investor, building owner, buyer and tenant.
The results of such bold steps are measurable: “Zero”, where the square meter is rented for 23 euros, consumes only 24 kWh of energy per square meter and year, compared to three times higher values for conventional buildings.
“Simple construction” is also an issue at the Stuttgart-based Drees & Sommer subsidiary EPEA. However, the company, which chemist Michael Braungart founded in 1987 to transform the linear economy into a circular economy, is looking at the entire construction process. Born in Swabisch Gmünder, nature, with its rhythm of growth and decay, was the role model. EPEA managing director Marcel Özer puts it this way:

We want to move away from stand-alone solutions and interconnect all processes and aspects.

Circular economy in construction: sustainability over the entire life cycle of buildings

The sustainability strategy of 45 EPEA experts applies to Dreso's own construction projects and to building owners such as the city of Constance — currently building a vocational school, for example. Managing Director Marcel Özer emphasizes:

A key indicator of our analyses is CO₂-Value.

This is considered over the entire life cycle of a building — starting with the extraction of raw materials and the energy-efficient production of the building materials and components, through the planning and implementation of the construction project, the operation of the building, to its dismantling and the reuse or further use of the materials used.
As a consulting firm, EPEA also supports the certification of building material manufacturers and their products for sustainability and moderates software-based industry solutions, which in turn can be digitally compared with construction law or quality standards such as the DGNB seal. This can be compared with the beverage industry's proven deposit system, whose bottles are taken back and reimbursed everywhere and which — based on identical recipes — can finally be recycled together into new bottles. The same is also possible with window glass, fittings or carpets to keep high-quality raw materials in circulation.
What's more: In the Benelux countries, the facades or carpets of newly built hotels or universities remain partly owned by the manufacturer, who receives a fixed fee per month from the building operator. This leaves the supplier with the incentive not to offer the cheapest solution, but the most profitable solution for them. This may mean that carpets, for example, are not glued but fixed with Velcro so that the textile fibers can be reused later. Or to use particularly robust material on staircases and in front of elevators to increase durability. Or replace just a few square meters instead of the entire area.
Together with the Madaster digital material database, Özer is also working on recording the substance of buildings and determining when it is appropriate to dismantle them. For example, construction participants can find out when and where how much mineral material, used tiles or windows become available and can plan for this when building a new building or renovation. Tübingen and Munich are currently being dismantled, for example on former barracks areas. Just intimately, material is reprocessed there and stored temporarily for collection.

This saves costs in logistics and disposal and, in these cases, is even more economical than the conventional, previous method of disposal.

Urban mining and material flow management: secondary raw materials as the future of the construction industry

The circular reorganization of material flows from dismantling and renovation is becoming a central component of the future construction industry. So-called secondary raw material centers will play a key role in this — they should be organized nationwide and on an interdisciplinary basis. Visionary Marcel Özer sees enormous potential in this:

This creates completely new business models and jobs.

There is already a network initiative of several companies in Offenbach on the subject of urban mining. At the same time, traditional demolition companies are increasingly turning into secondary raw material dealers and saying goodbye to their former “grubby image.” The space requirement of such hubs depends largely on material flow management and the respective use.

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Click here for the full article in the September/October 2025 issue from Economy magazine.
Author: Leonhard Fromm