Following a construction period of only 15 months, the German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU) dedicated the new building for its subsidiary, the DBU Naturerbe (Natural Heritage) GmbH, in Osnabrück at the end of June. The innovative administrative and exhibition building, erected using passive house methods, demonstrates once again in an exemplary manner the diverse opportunities for energy-efficient construction: in this building with a total floor area of approximately 1,800 square meters and building costs of around six million euros, the DBU opted for the renewable raw material wood, hemp as the insulation material, and a groundwater cooling system, rendering an air conditioning system unnecessary.
