In October 2007, the Bau- und Liegenschaftsbetrieb NRW Düsseldorf (real estate holdings management company for the state of Northrhine-Westphalia) commissioned HOCHTIEF Construction to build a new headquarters for the NRW State Office of Criminal Investigation. With approximately 60,000 square meters of gross floor area, the building in Düsseldorf is one of the biggest construction projects in Northrhine-Westphalia at the moment. HOCHTIEF Construction was awarded the contract for planning and implementing the project after successfully completing a pre-qualification process, presenting its concept, and concluding negotiations with the state. Hochtief’s NRW business unit worked with established planning partners to develop a solution that offers both superior design and great economy, and which is also tailored to the customer’s needs.

The building, which will be around 200 meters long, 70 meters wide, and 22 meters high, has been planned as a "modern fortress" with stringent security specifications. Some 20,000 square meters of the total floor space of 60,000 square meters will be used to house police labs, with the remainder reserved for offices and special areas. Such multiple utilization is also reflected in the structure of the complex, as its outer shell will cover two separate buildings linked by a diagonal overpass. The glass entrance area will create communicative transparency toward the outside, while the block structure of the administrative and lab sections will provide for a closed-off look and ensure compliance with the high safety standards required for such a structure.

Efficiency and sustainability will be ensured by a state-of-the-art geothermal facility that will provide for natural climate control within the complex. To this end, water pipes will be installed underground along the drilled piles. The warmth thus generated will support the building’s heating unit in the winter and cool the structure in the summer. The client also requested a roof design that would allow for installation of a photovoltaic unit on top of the building. If implemented, this facility would have 480 modules mounted over an area of 800 square meters, thereby enabling it to produce approximately 80 MWh of electricity per year and avoid the emission of 65 tons of CO2 annually.

The project, which currently has a contract volume of €80.2 million, is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2010.