Facility management of the future: ENGIE Deutschland supports the EDGE Grand Central

Cologne – Smart, efficient and sustainable: The EDGE Grand Central is regarded as a showcase for future office buildings. This is accompanied by increased requirements for facility management. The project developer EDGE and the real estate investment manager Nuveen Real Estate trust in the expertise of ENGIE Deutschland GmbH: Since October 1, 2020 and over a period of five years, the leading specialist for technology, energy and service has been responsible for the complete facility management in the highly intelligent office building. These include in particular technical building management (TGM), infrastructure building management (IGM) and commercial building management (KGM), coordinating services as well as digitalization and energy management.

Contribution to sustainable buildings

"For years EDGE has been developing buildings that are among the smartest, most efficient and most sustainable in the world. EDGE Grand Central is the client's first project in Germany – and it sets a new standard in this country. We at ENGIE Germany are pleased to be part of this special building and to contribute to the project success with our services and solutions," says Dave Gebauer, Regional Manager Facility Services North-East and responsible for the project at ENGIE Deutschland. The cooperation between ENGIE Deutschland and EDGE started in May 2020 with an implementation phase during which, for example, amaintenance of all safety-relevant equipment was carried out. As the construction work is delayed due to the corona pandemic and is currently still ongoing, the ENGIE specialists also provided considerable support for the commissioning of the building and, as of January 1, 2021, started the technical and infrastructural building management with reduced regular operation.

Extensive expertise in hardware and software

Since then, an object manager and a building engineer from ENGIE Deutschland have been on site on a daily basis and take care of fault and defect removal management, maintenance and maintenance in the smart building. The EDGE Grand Central has a total of 22,800 square meters of office space, spread over nine upper floors and two lower floors. The tenants in the building located directly at Berlin Central Station include the digital company Scout24 and the American software and hardware manufacturer Oracle. In the future, more than 2,000 people will work in the building. The entire building is designed to meet their needs: Everything in EDGE Grand Central is interconnected, and communication runs via an IP (Internet Protocol) backbone. Users gain access via app and can personalize lighting, ventilation and temperature settings. Cleaning is also usage-indexed by sensor data – for example with an integrated feedback system for the sanitary areas. This places high demands on facility management: "Whether heating, cooling, ventilation or safety systems: The hardware in a smart building hardly differs from that of a conventional property. However, the need for IT and software competence is now added to this – in the EDGE Grand Central with a claim that is probably unprecedented in Germany," explains Dave Gebauer. "Our employees bring the necessary skills from both areas, and we are proud to be the first FM service provider in Germany to be responsible for operating such a forward-looking project. This gives us a pioneering role, because the facility management of the future will have to combine both areas of competence."

ENGIE practices the future

Not only in terms of smartness, but also in terms of health and sustainability, the EDGE Grand Central marks a new standard: As the first building in Germany, it is pre-certified by the German Sustainable Building Society (DGNB) for its contribution to wellbeing and health with the "WELL Building Standard Gold" and for its ecological construction and energy efficiency with the highest rating level "Platinum". "In the EDGE Grand Central, sustainability comes first. That is why ENGIE Deutschland is the ideal partner: Our goal is to accompany our customers on their way to climate neutrality – and that is exactly what we want in the EDGE Grand Central," says Dave Gebauer. This is accompanied by the fact that the two partners have contractually agreed on "sustainable facility services". As part of this, glass cleaning, for example, is carried out using a chemical-free osmosis process. Furthermore, the ENGIE team relies on active energy management in order to record energy consumption, analyze it and continuously adapt measures. Acting instead of reacting is the motto of ENGIE Germany, as Dave Gebauer emphasizes: "Although the EDGE Grand Central is already setting standards, we see further potential for optimization in the future. The building generates a wealth of data via its smart technology, which we can use to continuously improve our operations - in terms of technology as well as energy and infrastructure. We take a holistic view of the EDGE Grand Central in order to achieve the optimum together with our customer in terms of efficiency and climate protection."

© EDGE/Robert Herrmann