In several stages, armasuisse (the Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport DDPS of the Swiss Confederation) is currently having the Auenfeld barracks renovated and expanded to become the second largest barracks in Switzerland. PORR SUISSE was commissioned as the total contractor for the three main phases. Together, they now initiated the second stage of the overall renovation by laying the foundation stone.
The celebratory event took place at the end of November on the West construction site, where the AK building, i.e. the new engineering, testing and training building, is being built. User, tenant, operator and owner representatives as well as PORR SUISSE gathered there. After the welcome speech by PORR overall project manager Jürgen Angleitner, Colonel i Gst Felix Keller, commander of the armoury, and Josef Pein, CEO of PORR SUISSE, as well as Richard Brander, project manager armasuisse Immobilien, addressed the guests.
Successful collaboration
"It is a great honour for us to be able to work for the Swiss Confederation for the first time in the company's history. We greatly appreciate this trust", emphasised Josef Pein, CEO of PORR SUISSE AG. "This project will not only fill order books but also secure jobs and livelihoods." As a European construction company, PORR has been active on the Swiss market for many years. Their most recent projects include the new construction of the 80-metre-high Franklinturm and the revitalisation of the Schader commercial building in Zurich.
Colonel Felix Keller emphasised commonalities: "An army only works with people and so does a construction site. In this sense, people build for people as future users of the buildings. This is the basic principle we should always keep in mind when managing projects."
Richard Brander, Project Manager armasuisse Real Estate, quoted Henry Ford: "Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success". With that he underlined that the cooperation between the client armasuisse and the contractor PORR works very well and has already borne fruit: The ground floor neared completion within the first month of construction.
A box containing, among other items, the construction plans for stage 2, a Thurgau daily newspaper, a PORR honey jar and the Waffenplatz coat of arms was ceremoniously sunk and embedded into the foundation recess with great skill.
Eight new buildings and outdoor facilities
The Frauenfeld military training area is one of the most important military training areas of the Swiss Armed Forces. Its universal infrastructure offers ideal conditions for long-term use. For these reasons, the stationing concept provides for the strengthening and long-term continued use of the Frauenfeld military training area. Various field offices are to be integrated into the Auenfeld barracks. Therefore the barracks are to be expanded in several stages to become the second-largest barracks in Switzerland.
PORR is planning and realising eight new buildings and the associated outdoor facilities by 2025. With regard to the energy standards, the Minergie specifications are implemented for the AK, FA, WH, RV buildings and the Minergie ECO label specifications for the UE building.
Facts and figures at a glance
Type of project: | Building construction. Public buildings |
Scope of services: | Eight new buildings and the associated outdoor facilities |
Client: | armasuisse Immobilien, the real estate competence centre of the DDPS |
Contractor: | PORR SUISSE AG |
Project duration: | 03.2022 – 03.2025 |
