Hinz and Holthausen office building

Good neighborhood in Cologne Zollstock

The new company headquarters of the Cologne-based family businesses Helmut Hinz GmbH & Co. and Holthausen GmbH have a number of similarities, but are completely independent – just like the two sanitary and heating specialist companies, which each serve different target groups. While Helmut Hinz GmbH & Co. focuses on private customers, Holthausen GmbH looks after larger properties with ten or more residential units. However, they feel closely connected in their corporate philosophy and are looking forward to their new neighborhood.

Photo @Bright Parameters GmbH

Günter Hinz and Bastian Winter, respectively managing directors of Helmut Hinz GmbH & Co. and Holthausen GmbH, have known and appreciated each other for a long time. When both entrepreneurs were considering the idea of a sustainable new building due to a lack of space at their respective company locations, the idea of two neighboring buildings was quickly born. Previously located in Sülz, a suitable property was found just a few meters away in Zollstock. After a construction period of around one and a half years, the two three-storey office buildings, each with around 1,800 square meters of office, exhibition and storage space, are due to be completed this summer. The design of the buildings is based on the respective corporate design of the companies: The Hinz building picks up on the striking Hinz red with the blue wave, while the Holthausen building comes in classic white with green and red accents in line with the company logo.

Future-oriented planning and modern environmental technology
At the time of reference, both companies will lease part of their office space to third parties in order to create capacity for future growth. The building technology has also been planned with the future and the environment in mind: Both buildings will meet the KfW 55 standard. Most of the power is supplied by a photovoltaic system, which also feeds the planned e-charging stations. A battery storage system makes solar energy available even when there is little sunshine. “We want to be as energy self-sufficient as possible. This is also relevant for us in terms of sustainability,” explains Günter Hinz. Renewable energies are also used for the air conditioning of the buildings: reversible heat pumps extract heat from the ambient air or extract the heat from the interior spaces to cool them to comfortable temperatures. The ClimaLevel Multiboden HKL is responsible for distributing the heat and cold, which also takes care of ventilation in addition to heating and cooling. “We have been working with ClimaLevel Energiesysteme GmbH for years in the field of conventional underfloor heating,” explains Bastian Winter. “We opted for the innovative HKL multi-floor for our buildings. The slim and very energy-efficient system convinced us.” Another advantage: the entire underfloor cabling can be integrated into the Multiboden HVAC.

Like their bosses, the employees are also looking forward to their new workplaces in the “fraternal twins”, as Hinz and Winter like to call their new buildings. They were actively involved in the planning. After all, Günter Hinz and Bastian Winter attach just as much importance to the satisfaction of their customers as they do to that of their employees.