Siemens: Topping-out ceremony for future research

Just nine months after construction began, a topping-out ceremony is being celebrated for the new Siemens Technology Center at the research campus in the university town of Garching, Germany, near Munich. As a result, this new building – which was planned digitally and is being built to meet stringent sustainability requirements – has thus now reached an important milestone on the journey to Siemens’ future research activities in the Munich area. With its modern work environments, this facility will serve as an innovation hub that provides space for inspiration and new ideas. At this center, more than 450 researchers from Siemens’ “Technology” unit will collaborate on technologies of the future with around 150 employees and students from the Technical University of Munich (TUM).
Garching: topping-out Siemens Technology Center
The shell of the new Siemens Technology Center Garching is complete. Nine months after the start of construction, building participants and guests of honour met for the topping-out ceremony. Standing in front of the topping-out crown are (from left): Albert Berger, Dean of the TU Munich, Dr. Dietmar Gruchmann, First Mayor of Garching, Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts, Prof. Dr. Thomas F. Hofmann, President TU Munich, Dr. Peter Körte, Chief Technology Officer of Siemens, Dr. Zsolt Sluitner, CEO Siemens Real Estate

“Siemens, as a global player, and TUM, as a world-class university, are growing together: At the Siemens Technology Center, bright minds from the scientific and business communities will conduct research and work together under one roof. In this way, two true champions are jointly making the soil fertile for innovation – the perfect combination for inspiration, development and progress!” emphasized Markus Blume, Bavarian state minister of science and the arts, at the topping-out ceremony, to which Siemens had invited the construction companies working on the building, together with their employees and special guests.
For nearly 50 years, Munich has been the main research location in Germany for Siemens’ Technology unit, which until now has been based at the Siemens location in the Perlach section of Munich. The new building at the so-called “Isar Valley” research campus in Garching will now provide the right setting for the hybrid and collaborative work and research of the future. The company’s cooperation with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), which has already been among the company’s top technology partners for more than twenty years, will also help ensure that the right setting is in place.
“I’m pleased that, together with Siemens as another strategic partner, we are vigorously driving progress with our ‘Industry on Campus’ concept – as a win-win proposition for our students and researchers at TUM as well as for Siemens’ employees,” said Professor Thomas F. Hofmann, president of TUM. “Due to the physical proximity and new formats for an intensified exchange with one another, we can expect unique synergies between the scientific and business communities as well as innovative technological developments on our high-tech campus.”
The focal points of the research being performed at Siemens is on the key topics of the future in the field of digitalization. In addition to innovative approaches to sustainable solutions for Siemens customers, these topics include core technologies such as simulation, digital twins, the industrial internet of things, the future of automation, additive manufacturing and innovative production processes.
“The close links with our partners from our Research and Innovation Ecosystem create new perspectives for our researchers,” said Peter Körte, chief technology officer at Siemens. “In this way, we can work together jointly and in close alliance to find solutions for the major challenges of the present and of the future, and we can help shape the digital, sustainable transformation. Today – more than ever – we need technology with purpose to live up to our responsibility to future generations.”
With more than 7,500 employees and 20,000 students, the research campus in Garching is currently already one of Germany’s largest centers for science, research and education. “The unique combination of top universities like TUM and LMU, research institutes like the Fraunhofer Society, high-tech industries, and a lively start-up scene offers a powerful ecosystem for research and innovation,” emphasized Dr. Dietmar Gruchmann, First Mayor of the City of Garching. “Today’s topping-out ceremony for the Siemens Technology Center marks yet another milestone on the journey of the visionary ‘Science City of Garching.”
On four levels and with two inner courtyards, the Siemens Technology Center offers around 13,000 square meters of modern and highly variable space. Current research projects can be presented to the public in the foyer. In addition to a lecture hall that can be divided flexibly, technical areas, such as laboratories, are now being built along with a conference zone, training and meeting rooms, and modern workspaces. Adapted to accommodate hybrid working in the so-called “new normal,” these facilities will enable the highest possible levels of flexibility in an environment characterized by collaboration and agile teamwork.
Zsolt Sluitner, CEO of Siemens Real Estate, which is in the company responsible for Siemens’ real estate portfolio, emphasized that the building itself, with its aluminum facade, will exude a spirit of innovation. At the topping-out ceremony, he expressly thanked all the people working for the some 60 construction companies involved in the project for their hard work. “Like all new Siemens buildings, we first created the Technology Center as a digital twin right from day one, before any of it was implemented in reality. This approach provides a basis for particularly high levels of resource-efficiency, first in construction and later in operation,” he said. “For this inclusive new building, too, we are aiming for ‘Gold’ certification according to the internationally recognized LEED sustainability criteria.”
Features for helping to secure this certification include the photovoltaic systems on the roof, thermally activated intermediate ceilings for supporting the heating and cooling systems, the supply of regenerative energy through geothermal power, highly efficient ventilation with heat-recovery capabilities, and ultramodern sensor and building technology from the Siemens portfolio. In addition, the new Technology Center – for which 8,500 cubic meters of concrete have already been poured and about 1,200 tons of steel have already been installed – will have full coverage for Wi-Fi connectivity and a 5G mobile network and will be equipped with cutting-edge media technology.
For the first phase of construction, for which the topping-out ceremony has been celebrated today, Siemens is investing a euro amount in the mid-double-digit millions. Plans call for completing this phase in 2023. An additional phase of construction is currently in planning.