Urban districts, buildings and interiors which have been awarded a DGNB certificate stand apart from the rest of the market thanks to their high quality and because they are already geared to future requirements. We’re pleased to present a selection of the projects which make up the best of the best of 2018.

Being awarded with the Platinum DGNB certification is the equivalent of playing in the Champions League of sustainable building. And some 30 projects made the grade in 2018. The projects that successfully achieved the highest total performance index in their respective scheme are presented in the following list.

An existing building that exceeds 90 percent

As in the previous year, the building with the highest overall DGNB certification score in 2018 was to be found in the state of Bavaria. This existing building in Pullach is owned by the financial services company LHI; the development was carried out by Mann + Partner. At 93.1 percent, it’s the only project that achieved a rating of higher than 90 percent. Natalie Eßig of Essigplan was the DGNB Auditor.

Top marks for new offices and administrative buildings

Among the scheme of new office and administrative buildings, the best score was recorded by the head office of the engineering consulting firm Goblet Lavandier & Associés in Luxembourg, which fulfilled the DGNB certification criteria with a mark of 87.4 percent. The air conditioning needs of the building, which was designed by Christian Bauer & Associés, are met by a geothermal loop system and night-purge ventilation. The DGNB Auditor was Stefan Fries of e3 consult. In Germany, the Hamburg headquarters of insurance provider VBG achieved the highest mark of 85 percent. The building was planned by APB and audited by Andreas Hintz for ikl Ingenieurbüro Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kunibert Lennerts.

Platinum or Gold plus a DGNB Diamond

The RheinMain CongressCenter (RMCC) in Wiesbaden, Germany, was designed by the architects Ferdinand Heide BDA  and achieved 85.8 percent, the highest score in the ‘Buildings used for meetings/assemblies/gatherings’ scheme. The DGNB Auditor was Volker Kaufmann for SGS Schütz Goldschmidt Schneider GmbH. The RMCC also received the DGNB Diamond award for outstanding quality of design and Baukultur, including the classic language of its form, which reflects the historical buildings in the surrounding city centre.  

The DGNB Diamond, which has only been awarded a total of six times, was also presented in 2018 in conjunction with a DGNB Gold certificate to the newly constructed corporate headquarters of the paint manufacturer DAW, which is located in the town of Ober-Ramstadt near Darmstadt, Germany. The commission for design quality was particularly impressed by the design and meticulous attention to detail in the interior, as well as the use of colour as an identifying feature. Brückner & Brückner Architekten were delighted with this recognition of their work. Andrea Georgi-Tomas served as DGNB Auditor of the project for ee-concept.

New high score for building interiors

With a rating of 83.8 percent, the SparkassenHaus building in the town of Leer (Lower Saxony), earned a new high score for the DGNB certification of its interior. At the same time, the building as a whole ranked high in terms of sustainability at 84.9 percent. The reward was a double Platinum DGNB certification. martin menzel architekten ingenieure GmbH and Benjamin Ellwanger planned the SparkassenHaus; Thomas Wilken and Kaya Affeldt of energydesign braunschweig were the DGNB Auditors.

Trailblazers in the ‘Mixed use, buildings in use, hotel and logistics buildings’ scheme

The BASF Business Centre in Ludwigshafen, Germany (architect: HPP International; DGNB Auditor: André Zamann) achieved the top score of 84.2 percent in the mixed use category. Each earning 83.9 percent, the Stadtgalerie Plauen shopping centre (DGNB Auditor: Jan Zak for ikl) led the pack in the category of buildings in use, while the Baum logistics centre (architect: rewa; DGNB Auditor: Monica Tackenberg for Doreen Kruschina Planning) topped the list in the scheme of logistics buildings.

We then jump to the Spanish island of Fuerteventura, where holidaymakers can enjoy a hotel offering top-notch sustainability: the Torre Robinson Jandiya Playa. Designed by 2f arquitectura, it met the DGNB criteria with a score of 82.5 percent, placing it at the top of the list in 2018 in the scheme of hotel buildings. The DGNB Auditor was Daniel Vilavedra Vilà.

Platinum-certified urban district

The first urban district to be awarded the highest-level Platinum DGNB certificate was the Cloche d’Or in Luxembourg, which achieved a score of 82.6 percent. Among other things, it stood out for its use of primarily recycled materials, fully in keeping with the concept of a circular economy. P. Arc designed the urban district, the landscape planning was conducted by Förder & Demmer and Stefan Fries of e3consult served as DGNB Auditor.