Bilfinger Berger Magazine01 2012

8 What the future looks like Smarter Buildings | 22 Helping children learn more effectively Memory training| 30 Rolling silently through Munich Mobility Bavarian style | 36 How biogas fuels the economy Schäfer’s shrimps

Ingenuity makes the world go round.

Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012 // 32 \\ IMPRINT

ROLAND KOCHChairman of the Executive Board of Bilfinger Berger SE

As the new Chairman of the Executive Board of Bilfinger Berger, it is my pleasure to welcome you to this issue of ourmagazine. In recent months I have been intensively ac-quainting myself with this dynamic company, and I havecome to fully appreciate just how much Bilfinger Berger haschanged in the last decade. Construction remains one of ourcore competences but now accounts for just one-fifth of thebusiness. We are instead engineering chemical and pharma-ceutical industry plants, modernizing power stations anddeveloping technologies to convert biomass into energy. We are also developing and operating properties, even tothe extent of offering cost guarantees that cover the entirelife cycle of a building.

What is most important, however, is that Bilfinger Berg-er is not a jack of all trades. Our skills and competencescomplement one another on a modular basis. Our clients,if they wish, can place their properties or industrial plantsentirely in our care.

Many clients are closely networked with us. Together weare devising new ideas in widely differing parts of the world.An exciting partnership has emerged with IBM, for example,aimed at developing properties that may possibly relegateour current ideas of sustainability to the sidelines. We callthese properties “Smarter Buildings.” You can read moreabout them in this issue.

Yours truly,

Dear Reader,

WILLOW BRANCHES FORMTHE SUPPORT STRUCTURE FORA 20-METER LONG PLATFORM.

Bilfinger Berger Magazinewww.magazine.bilfinger.com

Published byBilfinger Berger SECarl-Reiss-Platz 1–5 68165 MannheimGermanyTel. + 49 (0) 621 459-0Fax + 49 (0) 621 459-2366www.bilfinger.com

Editorial director:Michael Weber, Bilfinger BergerProject management:Dr. Daniela Simpson, Bilfinger BergerBernd Hauser, agentur.zsContact:magazine@bilfinger.comDesign and layout:Steven Dohn, Theo Nonnen,Bohm und Nonnen, Büro für GestaltungPhoto editing: Helge Rösch, agentur.zs

Cover photograph: ShutterstockLitho: Goldbeck ArtPrinting: ColorDruck LeimenTranslation:Baker & Harrison, Bruce MacPhersonCirculation coordination:Business Service Weber

Bilfinger Berger Magazine is published in German and English. All rights are reserved.Items by named contributors do not neces -sarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. The reprinting or electronic distribution ofarticles or excerpts of articles is prohibitedwithout the express permission of the pub -lisher. Bilfinger Berger Magazine is printed on FSC certified paper.

// 54 \\ CONTENTS

22 mutts on skis

How can you remember everythingthese days — from telephone num-bers and PINs, to passwords andnames of business partners? Chris-tiane Stenger is a world championin memory sports and teaches howto train your brain. An interview.

25 bavaria’s gyro gearloose

Bruno Gruber is Bavaria’s answer toGyro Gearloose. He, like the genialcharacter in the Walt Disney stories,is an inventor.

30 mobility bavarian style

When it comes to electromobility,Munich is a pioneer. So how doesone get to the Oktoberfest in style?With leather shorts and a Segway, ofcourse. A test drive.

42 one and only

“one,” Bilfinger Berger’s newestproduct offering, is set to conquerthe real estate world: It’s based onthe PPP concept and offers privatesector clients the same benefitsthat, until now, have been reservedfor the public sector.

44 the jungle bloggers

Wanni’s village in Sri Lanka was bypassed by globalization and de-velopment. But with the Internet,the teacher has connected villagersto the wider world. His “e-village” concept has won many awards andfound many imitators.

50 inside story: barbara steffen

Bilfinger Berger employs about60,000 people around the world.They each have a story to tell.

/// NEWS

48 prison near darwin / Third Australian prison as a publicprivate partnership.julius berger nigeria plc / BilfingerBerger’s investment decreases to be-low 40 percent.deutsche bank / Management of allproperties in Germany.ppp fund / Bilfinger Berger ProjectInvestments places 19 projects on the London Stock Exchange.

49 boiler construction / Acquisition of Rosink strengthens Power Services.filter technology / Acquisition ofDiemme S.p.A. in Italy.biotechnology / Major order fromGenzyme in Geel, Belgium.measurement and control tech-

nology / Alpha complements prod-uct range from Industrial Services.

34 small, but remarkably clever

Creativity reveals itself in the littlethings. Clever ideas from BilfingerBerger.

36 schäfer’s shrimps

Cows and pigs no longer paid thebills. Now farmer Heinrich Schäferruns a biogas plant. The waste heatpowers Germany’s first shrimpfarm.

40 biomass does it

Electricity, heat, fuel: Biomass is rapidly catching up to other renew-able energy sources. New technolo-gies make it attractive even forlarge-scale energy suppliers. Bilfinger Berger has some develop-ments of its own.

01 2012Bilfinger Berger Magazine

2 Imprint3 Editorial4 Contents6 Kaleidoscope

30

COVER STORY /// VERY CLEVER!

BRIGHT IDEAS: BRUNO GRUBER E-CAR: SILENTLY THROUGH MUNICHARCHITECTURE: CONSTRUCTION BOTANY BIOGAS: CREVETTES INSTEAD OF COWS E-VILLAGE: EDUCATION IN SRI LANKA

8 on our way to a smarter

planet

Bilfinger Berger and IBM are work-ing together on a “SmarterBuildings” concept. At the IT giant’sGerman headquarters, networkedtechnology is bringing greater sus-tainability — from the combinedheat and power plant to the electriccars driven by the staff.

18 innovation with a

watering can

Back to nature: Young architectsworking in the new field of“Construction Botany” are usingtrees to create living structures.

4425 3618

www.magazine.bilfinger.com/oktoberfest

6 \\ KALEIDOSCOPE Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

BIG WORDS

“The disadvantage of intelligence is that one is constantlycompelled to keep on learning.”George Bernard Shaw

“Intelligence makes us fainthearted.”Erasmus of Rotterdam

“Some people use their intelligence to make things simpler, others to make them more complicated.” Erich Kästner

“Inventors and geniuses at the start of their careers (and very often also at the end) have always been regarded by society as fools.”Fyodor Dostoyevsky

PARKING VIA APP

Drivers looking for somewhere to park account for 30 per-cent of the moving city traffic, says Zia Yusuf. His start-upcompany aims to fit parking spaces with small, low-costsensors. These sensors then inform frustrated drivers via asmartphone app whether the spaces are free or not. “Thismeans less stress for drivers and greener cities,” says Yusuf.Within a few years, “guided parking” will be the norm. Thesystem is already being tested in some American cities.www.streetline.com

THE WORTH OF JAMES WATT

On April 29, 1769 James Watt was granted English PatentNo. 913 which described a method of substantially increas-ing the efficiency of steam engines. The unit of measure-ment he came up with to measure the performance of en-gines was “horse power.” A machine, after all, was nothingmore than a mechanical work horse. Watt’s technology laid the foundation for the Industrial Revolution. He died awealthy man at the age of 83. At first, however, he had lit-tle success with his invention, ran up debts to develop it fur-ther and fell ill. In desperation he complained: “There isnothing more foolish in life than inventing. I am now fifty-three years old and have not been fifty-three pennies’ worthof use to the world.”

KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT BORDERS

Members of the New York Academy of Sciences met in 2008to found the Internet network “Scientists Without Borders.”The idea is to tackle poverty, disease and environmentalproblems by requesting and providing scientific and tech-nical solutions without the hindrance of national borders.A doctor in Port-au-Prince, Haiti may for example post an urgent request for anesthesia equipment. The Institute ofBioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB) in Banga-lore could issue an invitation to guest lecturers in comput-er biology with the promise of “highly motivated students.”www.scientistswithoutborders.org

LANDS OF INNOVATIONNumber of patents granted

1 Japan 239,338

2 USA 146,871

3 South Korea 79,652

4 Germany 53,752

5 China 48,814

6 France 25,535

7 Russia 22,870

8 Italy 12,789

9 United Kingdom 12,162

10 Switzerland 11,291

11 Holland 11,103

12 Canada 8,188

13 Sweden 7,453

14 Finland 4,675

15 Australia 4,386

16 Spain 3,636

17 Belgium 2,948

18 Israel 2,665

19 Denmark 2,347

20 Austria 2,306

Source: World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO) 2010

JUNK RESEARCH

Up to 90 percent of all scientific re-search leads nowhere — except intothe wastebasket. Leonie Mück andThomas Jagau, doctoral students inchemistry at the University of Mainz,are seeking to document failed re-search projects in a scientific journalthat is a world first. The “Journal of Unsolved Questions” is intended to prevent people from asking thewrong questions over and over againor conducting the same experimentsthe wrong way. Quite appropriately,the name of the journal abbreviatesto ‘JUnQ’ — junk.http://junq.info

WINTER SPORTS, DANISH-STYLE

Skiing in Copenhagen? The fun starts on the highest peak in the Danishcapital — the viewing platform at the top of a 100-meter tall waste incinerator. Thedesign is the brainchild of the Copenhagen-based architecture firm Bjarke IngelsGroup (BIG). As founder and partner Bjarke Ingels explains: “This is an example ofwhat we call ‘hedonistic sustainability.’ Sustainability needn’t be a burden; it can justas easily improve our quality of life.” If things go according to plan, the first skierswill be attempting their first curves in 2016. www.big.dk/projects/amf

// 7

Sleight of beak // Crows are not known to peck each other’s eyes out. Butthey do have a penchant for theft, trickery and deception: a sign of higher in-telligence. They also have the ability to use tools, such as sticks or wire, to getat tidbits that researchers have concealed.

Buzz, buzz, buzz... // Here a hollyhock, there a rosebush, a grape vineflower ing against the wall. Honey bees and bumble bees encounter them at ran-dom and quickly learn the fastest route from one blossom to the next. Whichsaves a lot of time and energy on their next visit. Researchers at the Universi-ty of London are attempting to discover just how they do this. Traffic planners,logistics companies and computer network operators are all interested in theresults.

Toolmakers with emotion // Chimpanzees are skilled in the use of tools:They use sticks to fish termites out of their holes, crack nuts and go hunting withself-made spears. In their group, they also show emotion: Primates mourn theirdead and from time to time adopt orphans of their own species.

Cunning creatures // Octopuses are curious and have a capacity for learn-ing. They fetch materials from far and wide to build their hiding places, and canopen screw-top jars to get at food inside. Some individuals have even been foundcleaning out their lair.

Clever collie // Psychologists at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Car-olina wanted to find out if there is a limit to the number of words a dog canlearn. Over a period of three years they taught border collie Chaser the namesof 1022 objects. To test how successfully he learned them, they regularly placedtwenty objects selected at random in an adjacent room. Chaser correctly fetchedalmost all of them. Border collies have a particular affinity for language. As sheepdogs, they have been bred for centuries to understand their master’s commands.

// 98 \\ SMARTER BUILDINGS Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

ON OUR WAY TO A SMARTER PLANETFROM THE COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT TO THE LAPTOPS AND ELECTRIC CARS — THE ENERGY FLOWAT IBM’S GERMAN HEADQUARTERS IS NETWORKED. IT’S ALL PART OF THE “SMARTER BUILDINGS” CONCEPT,A PILOT PROJECT FROM IBM AND BILFINGER BERGER FACILITY SERVICES.

T E X T / B E R N D H AU S E R / / / P H OTO S / R A I N E R K W I OT E K , C H R I STO P H P Ü S C H N E R

VISITORS TO IBM HEADQUARTERS AREGREETED BY A SIGN PROMOTING THE

NEXT STAGE OF THE VISION.

// 1110 \\ SMARTER BUILDINGS Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

/// When Hanna Wegerich drives to IBM head-quarters in the morning, she doesn’t exactlyknow where she will be working that day. The22-year-old picks up her work material fromher locker and goes in search of a vacantdesk — just like all the other employees atIBM’s German headquarters in Ehningen, near Stuttgart. And it’s not only BA students like Hanna who have no offices — managersdon’t either.

The open-plan rooms are austere andfunctional. Laptops clatter on desks, devoid of

plants and knick-knacks. Even family photosare a rarity. Some employees lock their photosaway at night in the lockers and take them outin the morning along with the files they areworking on.

LESS OFFICE SPACE This is the IBM “e-place” concept. A lot of con-sultants and programmers spend more timewith customers than at the office, so there isno need for them to have a workstation oftheir own — which means less office space to

For every inhabitant of our planet, there are an unimaginablebillion transistors. More and more sensors embedded in ma-chines, buildings and transport systems measure fantasticamounts of data. Most of these piles of data are isolated fromone another. But what if we could use powerful computer pro-grams to link, filter and analyze them in real time? And usethem as a basis on which to promote growth and environmen-talism in equal measure? For just this reason, IBM haslaunched its “Smarter Planet” initiative which aims to devel-

op intelligent networks in a total of 24 fields including ener-gy supplies, health care, food supplies, cities and buildings.

On the subject of “Smarter Buildings,” the American IT gi-ant is cooperating in Germany with Bilfinger Berger FacilityServices, the German market leader in property management.Together, the two companies have developed an intelligentlynetworked, fully sustainable buildings concept. IBM’s Germanheadquarters in Ehningen in Baden-Württemberg has beenselected as a pilot project. www.ibm.com/smarterplanet

A SMARTER PLAN ET

IBM AIMS TO LINK GROWTH WITH ENVIROMENTALISM

IBM HEADQUARTERS IN EHNINGEN. THE BUILDINGS, INCLUDING THE DATA CENTER, ARE SPREAD ACROSS A CAMPUS.

HANNA WEGERICH PICKS UP HER LAPTOP FROM HER LOCKERAND LOOKS FOR A DESK — A DIFFERENT ONE EVERY DAY.

“The great industrial revolutions of the pastwere induced by theconvergence of newcommunications tech-nologies and new energy systems.”Jeremy Rifkin

// 1312 \\ SMARTER BUILDINGS Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

rent, light, heat, cool and clean. The “e-place”concept has enabled IBM to significantly reduce its office requirements in Germany. The concept works because information tech-nology and intelligent building managementallow for it.

The company, which has long since ceasedmanufacturing computers and transformeditself into a software and consulting groupwith 430,000 employees around the globe, is,in many respects, a pioneer. Take for examplethe “Smarter Buildings” concept developedjointly by IBM Germany and Bilfinger BergerFacility Services. Ehningen is the first officecomplex in which every process is networkedto the extent that the building can be operat-ed on a fully sustainable basis.

EMPLOYEES SAVE ENERGY Energy management, above all saving andsharing electricity, is the key to the concept inwhich IBM employees play a central role. Inconventional office buildings, computersalone consume around a quarter of the elec-tricity. A tool has now been developed forEhningen that helps staff curb their energyconsumption. BA student Hanna Wegerichwrote her bachelor’s thesis on this new appli-cation and demonstrates it on her laptop:“Each employee has an on-screen displayshowing how much electricity the building is

ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Decentralized energy supplies

Reduces the cost ofgenerating energy

Reduces energyrequirements

Reduces peak loads

Reduces operating costs

Reduces management space required

Increased user awareness

Integration of e-cars

Optimization of building operation

Optimization of space

SAVE ENERGY E-MOBILITY FACILITIES

OPERATIONSSPACE & PORTFOLIOMANAGEMENT

FIVE MODULES MAKE A BUILDING SMART

NETWORKING IS THE KEY TO SMART SOLUTIONS, SAYS ARTHUR DORNBURG OF BILFINGER BERGER FACILITY SERVICES.

THE COMBINED HEAT AND POWER PLANT GENERATES ELECTRICITYMAINLY TO SUPPLY THE BUILDING. WHEN PRICES ON THE POWER

MARKET ARE HIGH, SURPLUSES ARE FED INTO THE PUBLIC GRID.

BOOK TIP:Jeremy Rifkin, The Third IndustrialRevolution: How Lateral Power isTransforming Energy, the Economy,and the World.Palgrave Macmillan, 2011304 pages, €20.77

// 1514 \\ SMARTER BUILDINGS Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

The goal of “Smarter Buildings” is to make buildingsmore efficient. IBM and Bilfinger Berger are jointlypursuing this vision. Is this the start of a beautifulfriendship?Well, it’s an extremely innovative joint project, and it’sa lot of fun. Together we aim to conquer the market. Such close cooperation between two large compa-nies is unusual. Is this a sign of how the economywill work in the future?Yes, even global players are no longer able to solvethe questions of the future on their own. We needpartnerships. Which in turn means confidence andtrust: who can do what, and do it better? Each addsits own contribution to the overall mosaic. Which contributions are these?IBM analyzes highly complex problems and developssolutions and software to match. Bilfinger Bergermanages properties and knows how they can betweaked, say, to improve energy efficiency. So IBMand Bilfinger Berger complement one another.Have you already received joint orders for smartbuildings?Yes, we have just reached an agreement with MTUAero Engines in Munich. I am confident that therewill be a rapidly growing demand in Germany. Thechange in energy policy is happening, switching fromnuclear power to renewables and decentralizedsupplies, and not just on paper. Energy costs will con-tinue to rise. Which means that energy will becomefar more important as a competitive factor.So you see strong prospects?We are forecasting that in the next five yearsturnover in “Smarter Buildings” in Germany will be asmuch as a billion euros. The primary issue in futurewill be how to use energy most efficiently in thecourse of the day. We see a market for German inno-vations that will be replicated in the global economy.

TRUST MAKES NEW VENTURES POSSIBLE

Hans-Hermann Junge,IBM Branch Manager in

Munich, is responsible for the

“Smarter Buildings” initiative.

I N NOVATIONS “MADE I N GERMANY” FOR TH E GLOBAL ECONOMY currently consuming. This display is accompa-nied by tips on how to save energy. When the needle reaches the red zone, staff can runtheir laptops on battery power,” she explains.The needle is always in the red around midday.Wherever possible, Thilo Kälberer, 29, tries toavoid these peak loads: “The energy suppliersstagger their prices. Peaks are extremely ex-pensive.” Thilo Kälberer is a consultant withBilfinger Berger Facility Services and coordi-nates the many facets of the pilot project. “Wecombine multiple technologies to smooth outthese peaks.”

One of these is the combined heat and pow-er plant, which was built and is now operatedby Bilfinger Berger. The 17-ton gas engine withan output of 3.35 megawatts drives a genera-tor to produce electricity, while the waste heatis used to warm and cool the building. In thisway, the plant achieves 90 percent efficiency.During the daily peak periods, the plant gen-erates power mainly to meet the building’sown needs. But when calm winds and cloudspull the plug on Germany’s wind and solarpower plants and prices on the electricity mar-ket soar, Ehningen feeds the bulk of its outputinto the public grid.

CONTRACTING REDUCES COSTS“In such phases, we enjoy a healthy return,”says Arthur Dornburg, 47. He is Managing Director at m+p consulting, a subsidiary of Bil-finger Berger that developed the power plantwithin the scope of a contracting model: “Afterthree and a half years the power plant will belong to IBM, so by then we must makeenough savings to amortize our costs.” BeforeBilfinger Berger, several engineering firmstried and failed to meet IBM’s time limit. “Wesolved this problem because we didn’t focussolely on the technical solution,” explainsArthur Dornburg. “We will cover our costs intime by trading energy, using the expertise ofour commercial people.”

Arthur Dornburg is convinced that it is this in-terdisciplinary approach that produces gen-uinely “smart” solutions. The mechanical engi-neer has been interested in energy efficiencysince his days as a student: “Up until a year agoI was opposed to electromobility — where’s the sense in introducing e-cars if they are going to be charged with electricity from con-ventional sources?” The German governmenthas now, however, formulated a paper onchanges in energy policy. That paper statesthat Germany can become the first major in-

dustrial nation with a high-efficiency energysystem based on renewable energy sources. By2020 the proportion of solar, wind and otherrenewables in the energy mix is due to in-crease from today’s 17 percent to 35 percent.“When the proportion of renewables is thathigh, e-cars can be charged using clean pow-er,” says Arthur Dornburg. “Then e-mobilitywill make good environmental sense.” Accord-ing to government plans, there will be one mil-lion electric cars on Germany’s roads by 2020,rising to six million by 2030.

THE MEETING ROOM INSPIRES CREATIVE THINKING.

// 1716 \\ SMARTER BUILDINGS Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

Here, too, the building in Ehningen wants to beat the forefront of development. IBM rents e-cars from the Bilfinger Berger pool, not justto drive but also as buffer storage: They arecharged when power from the grid is inexpen-sive, and discharge electricity when it is expen-sive and in short supply. The process is con-trolled by the IT system. The concept will be-come financially attractive as more and moreemployees switch to e-vehicles in the comingyears. Their cars will then be integrated intothe IBM building’s energy supply system.“With the batteries of just a hundred cars, IBMcould save peak electricity costs running intoseven digits every year,” says Arthur Dornburg.

OPERATING COSTS WILL DECREASE SUBSTANTIALLYBilfinger Berger manages IBM facilities in 24countries. In Ehningen alone the company em-ploys 26 engineers, technicians and adminis-trators. They manage the premises, technicalservices and operations. To make IBM head-quarters a “Smarter Building” they haveformed joint task forces that integrate IBM’ssoftware and networking specialists. With thetechnical barriers removed and individual ad-ministration and information systems fullynetworked, operating costs will fall by around35 percent.

Ehningen is a pioneering real estate and energy concept. It is almost as if the manage-ment floor had been inspired by forward-thinking American economist Jeremy Rifkin. Inhis latest book The Third Industrial Revolutionhe describes how the conjunction of newcommunications technologies and sustain-able energy systems will change industry andsociety: micropower stations, local energystorage, the switch to plug-in vehicles and de-centralized interactive trading in electricity arethe cornerstones of his vision. //

GROWI NG UP TOGETH ER

BILFINGER BERGER MANAGES IBM FACILITIES IN 24 COUNTRIES

Bilfinger Berger Facility Services has been managing properties for IBMsince 1996. The contract is regularly renewed and has expanded so ex-tensively that Bilfinger Berger has set up a separate subsidiary to serveIBM. The property specialists are now operating 200 facilities in 24 coun-tries, from Europe to North Africa and Asia. In addition to offices, call cen-ters and laboratories, this also includes sensitive computer centers. Bil-finger Berger safeguards data security with measures ranging from irisscanners at the point of entry to emergency generators that can bebrought online as required.

“For all these services, we provide IBM with one single central con-tact who takes care of everything,” says Dr. Gert Riegel, 37, one of thethree General Managers of Bilfinger Berger’s subsidiary. In fact, there area total of 24 service levels — a kind of catalog from which IBM can choosethe services it wants, tailored to specific properties. Another advantagefor the customer: experience gained in one property can be transferredto the others, enabling processes and equipment to be standardized. Thisalso reduces costs, as Gert Riegel explains: “Over the last 15 years thishas brought IBM savings of around €120 million.”

DATAFLOWS ARE CONTROLLED ANDANALYZED IN THE DATA CENTER.

SMARTER PRODUCTION PLANT

MTU AERO ENGINES

With the aid of IBM and Bilfinger Berger Facility Services, MTU AeroEngines plans to optimize its Munich plant as a reference project forthe “Smarter Buildings” idea. The goal is to increase energy efficien-cy by making savings both on costs and on CO2 emissions. The start-ing point for MTU Aero Engines is a new production facility due to en-ter service in 2012 to manufacture high-tech engine components. Elec-tric forklifts and transporters will also be integrated into the powersupply system. Through this project, MTU, IBM and Bilfinger Berger Fa-cility Services aim to demonstrate that ambitious goals can be eco-nomically achieved using existing technologies. (si)

// 1918 \\ GREEN ARCHITECTURE Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

INNOVATIONWITH A WATERING CAN

/// People often ask the Stuttgart-based archi-tect Ferdinand Ludwig whether as a boy heplayed in tree houses. Or whether Tarzan was hishero. In both cases he has to pass: “No, I didn’thave a tree house, and I only became interestedin Tarzan after people started asking me abouthim on account of my work.” This late summerday finds Ferdinand Ludwig, 31, blonde haired,with a three-day stubble, sneakers and a hoodie,standing amid the churned-up ground in the lit-tle Black Forest town of Nagold. The noise of con-struction machines surrounds him. Workmen arelaying paths and lawns. Ludwig casts a criticaleye over a curious object: a steel framework inthe shape of a ten-meter cube, the struts andbraces of which are concealed by young trees. In2012 the “plane tree cube” is scheduled to be anattraction at the regional horticultural show, after which it will become the green centerpieceof a new neighborhood.

A BUILDING THAT GROWSA few days prior to Ludwig’s inspection, land-scape gardeners installed 200 tubs, each ofwhich contained four plane trees as thick as a thumb, on the side walls of the cube. Thesaplings are bolted together in approximately3,000 places. Over time they will grow together

ARCHITECTS WORKING IN THE NEW FIELD OF “CONSTRUCTIONBOTANY” ARE USING TREES TO CREATE LIVING STRUCTURES.

T E X T / ST E FA N S C H E Y T T / / / P H OTO S / C I R A M O R O

to become one organism, transmitting water andnutrients from soil to crown. It will then be pos-sible to gradually remove the tubs from thewalls. In 15 to 20 years the plants will encase thesteel firmly enough to create a self-supportingstructure.

BRIDGES FROM AERIAL ROOTSFor years now, Ferdinand Ludwig and his col-leagues Oliver Storz and Hannes Schwertfeger ofthe Institute of Modern Architecture and Design(IGMA) at the University of Stuttgart have beenworking on load-bearing structures that utilizeliving trees — and in the process they have creat-ed a new architectural discipline known as“Construction Botany.” They tested the elasticityof various tree species, experimented with differ-ent lighting conditions, fertilization methodsand connecting systems. They also studied tradi-tional living structures: Bridges built in India using the aerial roots of rubber trees, and thelime trees once cultivated in Europe withbranches so cunningly trained that boardscould be laid out to create a dance floor in thecrown of the tree. Years ago, in a marshy reed bed by Lake Constance, the group of young archi-tects built a platform out of willows. The plants support the gratings of the footway and in many

FERDINAND LUDWIG, CONSTRUCTION BOTANY’S YOUNG PATRON.

// 2120 \\ GREEN ARCHITECTURE Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

places now completely surround the steelhandrails. They used the same technique — al-so in willow — to build a tower nearly ninemeters tall with floors strong enough to walkon. Similar structures, including hides forbird-watching, were built in Waldkirchen inBavaria, in Olfen in Westphalia, and in the experimental garden at the University ofFreiburg.

MICRO GARDEN IN A TREEIn Ferdinand Ludwig’s words, the plane treecube in Nagold is “the first constructionbotanic design for an urban context.” After thehorticultural show, some townhouses equal inheight to the cube are scheduled to be builtclose by, and over the years the cube itself will

become an accessible, three-dimensional park.If the crowns of the plane trees grow well andreach further and further out towards thehouses, Ferdinand Ludwig believes that theapartments on the upper floors could actual-ly be extended into the crowns of the trees:“Because of the load-bearing characteristics,large floor areas would be impossible, butsmall rooms — a guest room, office, studio ora micro garden — would be technically feasi-ble.” The ideas of Arthur Wiechula who in the1920s imagined entire houses grown out oftrees were certainly an inspiration to Ferdi-nand Ludwig. However, they are light yearsaway from his wholly pragmatic thinking.“‘Construction Botany’ is not intended to re-place steel or timber construction; it is an in-

terface that draws on garden and landscapearchitecture to create new kinds of usefulbuilding structures.”

TARZAN WAS NO GARDENERLudwig is interested less in visions than in fea-sible innovations: He goes into rapturesabout a new type of bolt with a special headthat makes joining the plants even more cost-effective. One of the issues he addressed for hisdoctorate was how to train young plants tomake them suitable for industrially prefabri-cated components for a maximum of potentialapplications. So it’s not surprising that Tarzanand tree houses leave him cold. “Tarzan wasn’ta gardener; he was a wild man who utilized theforest as he found it. As do builders of tree

houses who use a minimum of technical arti-fice to make the tree habitable. Whereas Bau -botanik (Construction Botany) is just the oppo-site: We design and build a tree as an artificialorganism.” The plane tree cube, Ludwig proud-ly explains, already has planning permission asa viewing platform. It even has an address:Goethestraße 4. Before the regional horticul-tural show opens in the spring of 2012, the ar-chitect intends to install a mail box — “Maybewe’ll get fan mail.” //

MORE:

www.baubotanik.orgwww.ferdinandludwig.de

INSIDE THE PLANE TREE CUBE IN NAGOLD:IN A FEW YEARS, NATURE WILL PLAY A MOREDOMINANT ROLE THAN STEEL.

ONCE ATTACHED, THE BRANCHES GROW TOGETHERTO FORM A TRUNK.

WHEN THE TREE IS STURDY ENOUGH, THE STEELSUPPORTS CAN BE REMOVED.

A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES: TREE TRUNKS SUPPORT APLATFORM IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIELD.

WILLOW PLATFORM NEAR LAKE CONSTANCE:THE HANDRAILS BECOME PART OF THE ORGANISM.

Copy

right

: Fer

dina

nd Lu

dwig

// 2322 \\ MEMORY TRAINING Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

CHRISTIANE STENGER, 24, IS A MULTIPLE WORLD CHAMPION IN MEMORY SPORTS.IN HER SEMINARS SHE SHOWS HOW ANYONE CAN TRAIN THEIR BRAIN.

I N T E RV I E W / F E L I X S C H N E G G / / / I L LU ST R AT I O N / S E B A ST I A N I WO H N

/// Ms. Stenger, what does one have to do to become a world memory champion?In memory contests it’s a matter of remember-ing as many things as possible in a given time.There are various disciplines: learning numer-als, words, fictional historical dates or playingcards. The current world record in the playingcard sprint with 52 cards stands at 21.7 seconds.That’s impressive.Yes, it’s hard enough to turn them over thatfast! It’s a really serious sport among adults.There are professionals in China who just sit ina room all day and train.You don’t give the impression of someonewho just sits in a room all day. Well, it doesn’t matter to me whether I can remember three thousand or five thousand binary numbers. I prefer teaching other peoplethe techniques. To me that’s more worthwhile.So how do you remember complicated things?It’s quite simple: you turn them into funny stories.Let’s look at this statistical formula here onthe right. We need a simple image for every letter. Visu-al images are easier to remember than ab-stract concepts. For “M,” for example, I imaginea mutt. Not a mouse, because it’s a capital “M.”A fat little mutt. And the mutt is on skis, that’sthe “equals” sign. So we’ve got a mutt on skisheading towards a Ferris wheel, that’s the “x.”The Ferris wheel has only one passenger carthat’s stuck at the top. Underneath the Ferriswheel is a mouse that has wrapped itself up ina blanket. Then comes a clown — plus alwaysmeans something is coming. The clown has

got another mouse that he’s holding up in hishand, the way a waiter holds a tray. He does amagic trick and juggles three pine trees. Thepine tree at the top has a present hanging onit. And the two lower ones, they love one an-other — another image for plus. One has onepresent and one has two. Now if we take awaythe formula, I’m sure you can repeat the story.

You’re right, it works!The important thing is to always think of theimages that accompany the story. What’s thedog’s coat like, what mood is he in, what kindof skis is he wearing? The better you can imag-ine this, the longer you will retain the story, es-pecially if the images are funny or crazy.Why is it so much easier to remember usingthe story method?Because of the images, for one thing. But alsobecause you have to consciously think aboutsomething. For that reason alone, you thinkabout the material and connect it in differentways. Our brains learn most when we findthings interesting. I think I would find it difficult to come up withall these stories. You seem to find it easy. Butthen you’ve got an IQ of 145. No doubt it helps to be gifted. But you don’thave to be a genius to remember for examplea hundred-digit number. With mnemotech-nics, anyone can improve their memory. That’s what’s so great about it! You practiceimagination, creativity, spontaneity and con-centration — and learning is more fun.You can remember 624 cards in order. Thatsounds like a long story.No, it works by another technique: the routingmethod. You determine a route with setpoints, for example from the door to the chair,to the chest of drawers, to the mirror. For theplaying cards, you have images in your headthat you then connect with the points on theroute. So when the jack of diamonds comesup — I think of that as Michael Schumach-er — and then the two of diamonds — that’s a

BOOK TIP:Christiane Stenger, A Sheep Falls Out of the Tree: And Other Techniques to Develop an Incredible Memory & Boost Brainpower. McGraw Hill Book Co., 2009A fun-filled guide that shows you simple everyday ways to improve your memory and sharpenyour mental skills, using odd phrases, silly stories, and visual images you’ll never forget.

24 \\

BRUNO GRUBER IS BAVARIA’S ANSWER TO GYRO GEARLOOSE. JUST LIKE THE AMIABLE CHARACTERIN THE WALT DISNEY STORIES, HE WORKS AS AN INVENTOR.

T E X T / A N N A H U N G E R / / / P H OTO S / C H R I STO P H P Ü S C H N E R , M I C H A E L H I M P E L / / / I L LU ST R AT I O N / H E L E N A F I S C H E R

Bilfinger Berger Magazine \\ 01 2012 INVENTOR BRUNO GRUBER // 25

canoe — I imagine Michael Schumacher atthe door, then a canoe on the chair. And so on.One rarely has to remember a sequence of cards.But you do have to remember shopping lists.The routing method has the advantage thatit’s not so easy to mistake the sequence or forget some elements. It’s also a useful way oflearning a presentation. The ancient Greeks

and Romans used it to speak ad lib.When was the last time you really forgotsomething?I often forget things. That’s why I always havea day planner. I’m sure I could remember myappointments, but I’m just too lazy. And if Iwere to lose my mobile phone with all thestored numbers, I would be in deep trouble.

I would have thought that you would applyyour techniques in everyday life. Certainly. I use them in my seminars so I canremember the names of the 50 or 60 partici-pants sitting in front of me. As a memorytrainer, it would not make a very good impres-sion if I forgot half of them. The really nicething, though, is that at the end of the semi-nar all of the participants are able to remem-ber all of the names.At school you had a few very poor grades, andthere was some doubt as to whether youwould be promoted. How did that comeabout? Early on I skipped a grade, but I never did anywork — as I said, I’m lazy. In my case, it didn’thelp that I knew I was gifted. I just wanted tobe normal. I would rather have been reallybad in math than always being called “theclever one.”How do you explain the fact that many chil-dren of above-average intelligence have prob-lems in school?Some love school. Others are bored, start doingother things and stop paying attention. It’s not the case that as a gifted child everythingcomes naturally to you. You may get the pointa little faster, but you still have to learn it. Thismuch applies to all children: if they don’t en-joy learning and aren’t shown how to learnproperly, they simply become frustrated. It hasa lot to do with how much support children get. You’ve written a book about memory tech-niques for children. Do children find thesetechniques easier than adults?Yes. When I train with children, each wants totalk about their images and ideas. Whereaswith adults, it’s hard sometimes even to teaseout an unusual image. Nevertheless, in princi-ple adults can do just as well. Provided they allow themselves to. //

UNIVERSAL PLIERSAS EASY TO USE AS A PAIR OF TWEEZERS

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up with the bendy broom that has a pivot be-tween brush and handle so it fits into cornersand behind closets. And a label patch that youstick over the annoying remains of labels to re-move them. It looks like a normal stickingpatch, but it is soaked in solvent. “Just stick iton, pull it off, job done.” One day, when he waspruning the roses, he thought, how about gar-dening gloves that could sweep up leaves?With little brushes on the fingers, maybe? Butthey would be hard to wash. Vulcanized rubberplates would be better. And right away Brunobuilt a prototype in his workshop.

CHEWING GUM FOR FISHHe once wanted to buy his grandchildren anaquarium, but he bought one for himself firstin order to be able to explain to them how totake care of the fish. “I came to the conclusionthat it’s very boring for the fish,” says BrunoGruber. So he invented chewing gum for fish,round and tiny, with a peppermint flavor. “Af-ter all, people chew gum for pleasure.” What’s

/// A mousetrap as big as a soccer field. Anocean liner that could sail in a thimble: Some-times Bruno Gruber tries to imagine objects su-per big or super small. “That’s how I get my bestideas,” he explains. Bruno Gruber, 70, a man witha mischievous smile, has been inventing thingsfor 33 years, for domestic as well as industrial ap-plications: things that are useful, and sometimesthings that people don’t really need. He holdsprecisely 100 patents and has applied for a fur-ther 471. In the past he has been a radio techni-cian, a tunnel builder in Australia, an aerospaceengineer in California and, when his head was al-most bursting with ideas that his employers did-n’t want, he decided to go it alone. “It’s not thathard to be an inventor,” says Bruno Gruber. “Youdon’t usually have to start from scratch. It’s morea case of combining things you already know.” Inhis little house in Olching, near Munich, he came

more, the gum is a useful way of feeding tar-geted doses of medication.

THE ANTI-SOUP SPOONBruno Gruber comes up with inventions at therate of eight to ten per year, displaying themat inventors’ fairs, such as the iENA in Nurem-berg. He sells an average of two each year. Of-ten these are little things, such as a miniaturefolding ruler. Or a soup spoon with an integrat-ed strainer for those who like solids, not liq-uids. Every few years, Gruber pulls off a coupand sells a major invention to a company. Anindustrial pump, for example, or a high-volt-age transformer. His biggest success was a sys-tem to supply ponds with oxygen. It consists ofa vibrating metal plate through which air ispassed. The vibration creates tiny bubbles. Hesold the patent for €225,000. That and his li-censing income cover his living costs and paythe fees for all of his patents: €60 for registra-tion, €350 for the request for examination, afew thousand for the patent attorney. His in-

EGG BOILERNEEDS ONLY A FIFTH OF THE ENERGY

FRYING PANWITH ANTI-SPLASH RIM

SWEEPER GLOVESGET INTO EVERY CORNER

// 2928 \\ INVENTOR BRUNO GRUBER Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

ventions are often quite simple, “and that’s theproblem,” says Gruber. He recently developeda washing machine that would sell in theshops for no more than €50. Just a simple plastic tub with a vibrating base to dispersethe detergent and agitate the wash. “It worksperfectly,” says Bruno Gruber, “but the bigmanufacturers aren’t interested, becausethen no one would buy a washing machine for €400.” The power of money and the impo-tence of the inventor are a big issue for BrunoGruber. Still, fame offers some consolation: The German Institute of Invention has award-ed Bruno Gruber the Rudolf Diesel Medal,adding his name to a long list of great inven-tors including Bau-knecht, Wankel and Zuse.His horticultural efforts have even earnedhim a place in the Guinness Book of Records:“I once grew a mini sunflower, only eight cen-

timeters tall with miniature leaves, miniatureflower and miniature stem.” The clever part: “I grew it inside a pot in a very fine, small sievethat kept the root ball tiny.” A shelf in his work-shop is lined with rows of mini plants — in-cluding rubber trees the size of daisies and a

carrot that would be perfectly at home in aPlaymobil setting. He’s even grown mini pota-toes, just five millimeters in size. “There’s a say-ing in Germany that the most foolish farmerhas the largest potatoes,” says Bruno Gruberwith a smile. “But I have the smallest.” //

MOUSETRAPTHE PRETZEL STICK ACTIVATES THE TRAP DOOR

A BRIGHT MINDIDEAS JUST SEEM TO DAWN ON BRUNO GRUBER.

// 3130 \\ E-MOBILITY IN MUNICH Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

/// A man wearing lederhosen runs from the sidewalk on-to the street without first looking around. For God’s sake!Doesn’t he have eyes in his head! I abruptly step on thebrakes, but the jaywalker doesn’t even notice that. He ob-viously has only one thing in mind: the fastest way to theOktoberfest.

But then I think to myself: Gosh, he probably didn’t hearme coming, because I’m gliding almost noiselessly downMunich’s Lindwurmstrasse. The Peugeot iOn I’m steeringthrough the Bavarian capital is a fully electrically poweredvehicle with no CO2 emissions whatsoever.

I can even hear the birds singing. The usual annoyingmotor sounds do not attack my ears. The soft whirr of thetires on the asphalt and the rush of the house facades as Iride by are the only indications that I’m actually driving.The future is quiet and comfortable: Although the Peugeotis a mere three-and-a-half meters, it is a cozy four-seaterwith just about all the equipment one might expect froma state-of-the-art vehicle.

PUTTING THE PEDAL TO THE METALAt Stachus, a large square in central Munich, a silver Maz-da MX5 pulls up alongside me. When the traffic light turnsgreen, however, all eyes are on me. “Electromobility is be-coming a reality” is printed on the rear door of my car,which has absolutely no trouble keeping pace with thesports car as we start to accelerate.

I drive over the Isar River to Munich’s Au district, wherethe great comedian Karl Valentin was born. He certainlywould have been delighted with a car that neither stinksnor makes noise. With the gift of audacious foresight, KarlValentin, as early as the 1930s, had a hopeful vision of Munich as an accident-free city in which the central pub-lic square, Marienplatz, would only be free for bicycles onMondays, for pedestrians on Tuesdays and for vehicles onWednesdays.

MUNICH AT THE FOREFORNT OF E-MOBILITYFor quite some time now Munich has played a pioneeringrole when it comes to electromobility. Here, research is car-ried out and implemented. Currently, the city, together withseveral Fraunhofer institutes and the companies Siemensand BMW, is testing the cable-free charging of an e-vehiclevia induction coils. eCarTec, also in Munich, has establisheditself as the leading trade fair in Germany, and at the Tech-nical University Munich (TUM), a team of professors andstudents has recently developed the “Mute,” a particularlylight electric vehicle that was greeted with great enthusi-asm by experts at the International Auto Show (IAA).

A VISIT TO THE OKTOBERFEST IN MUNICH? WE DIDN’T HAVE TO ASK OUR AUTHOR PHILIPP

MAUSSHARDT A SECOND TIME. HE WILLINGLY TRAVELED TO THE BAVARIAN CAPITAL TO TEST AN

ELECTRIC CAR AND A SEGWAY TRANSPORTER FOR US.

T E X T / P H I L I P P M AU S S H A R DT / / / P H OTO S / A N TO N I A Z E N N A R O

www.magazine.bilfinger.com/oktoberfest

MOBILITY BAVARIAN STYLE

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AN ELECTRIFYING INVITATION

Many companies want to change over part of theirtransport fleet to electric vehicles. m+p consulting inMunich can help them take these steps. As contractpartner, the Bilfinger Berger subsidiary offers a compre-hensive range of services covering procurement and financing to the provision of charging stations andmaintenance services. In an E-Mobility shop in the vicin-ity of Munich’s central train station, an array of trans-port options — from cars and motorcycles to e-bikesand Segways — are available for testing.

CONTACT:

arthur.dornburg@mp-gruppe.de

In the meantime, my Peugeot iOn purrs along in the direc-tion of the central train station, where the E-Mobility shopof m+p consulting, a subsidiary of Bilfinger Berger, is locat-ed. It’s not the charge indicator that forces me to drive backthere; after all, the battery still has almost 100 kilometersworth of electricity. Fact is, this afternoon I want to test yetanother vehicle: the Segway. Although the human trans-porter gives users the feeling of being on foot, people us-ing them are considered “operators of an electrically pow-ered mobility aid,” by traffic authorities.

MAKING WAVES WITH THE SEGWAYA technical assistant provides me with a short introduc-tion. Weight forward: acceleration. Weight back: braking. Itake two spins around the block and with every meter thefun factor increases. It’s October, the sun warms my legsand all of Munich is in Oktoberfest fever. Riding along onmy Segway, I take my place among the throngs of lederho-sen and dirndls heading in the direction of the Theresien-höhe, the location of the biggest folk festival in the world.

I maneuver my vehicle like a fish in water. A group of Japan-ese tourists take my picture. When they return home theywill probably describe the combination of tradition and innovation — lederhosen and Segway.

The mild fall weather entices me to take a detourthrough the English Garden, where a jumble of pedestri-ans, cyclists, joggers and inline skaters find their way acrossa broad network of park paths. I also have no trouble nav-igating my Segway transporter over the fine gravel, andwhen a jogger approaching the famous Chinese Towerturns out to be an old acquaintance of mine, we stop andchat for a while. She’s a bit more out of breath than I am.I lean slightly forward and my mobile transporter acceler-ates to around 20 kilometers per hour. I wave goodbye andturn in the direction of the canal. In the cold waters of theIsar, a group of hearty souls on surfboards brave the rush-ing downstream currents.

Behind me, a voice suddenly warns me to get out of theway — a group of tourists on the transporters is passingthrough. In Munich several city tour organizers have discov-

ered the Segway as the ideal means of seeing the sights.Wherever mobile tourists appear, they become the center ofattention. “Is it difficult to drive?” a man in a plaid shirt andlederhosen asks, as I make a stop at a beer garden. The man,a member of a bowling club from Cologne, is dressed like aBavarian in honor of the Oktoberfest and is checking out mytransporter with curiosity. “Nah,” I casually answer, enjoyingmy role as a Segway expert.

NO ACCESS TO THE FESTIVAL GROUNDSThe increasing number of dirndls signals the proximity ofthe Oktoberfest. And a police road block brings my mobilejourney to an end. A friendly but firm police officer explainsthat a total ban on vehicles starts here — and the Segway is,after all, a vehicle. Is it ever, I think a bit later in one of thebeer tents as I drink my first liter. In my mind’s eye I see peo-ple noiselessly zipping through pleasant cities without emis-sions, happily waving to one another. And when the thirdliter of beer arrives in front of me, I have the distinct impres-sion that the waitress has brought it to me on her Segway. //

TEST DRIVERS ARE WELCOME AT THE E-MOBILITY SHOP NEAR THE CENTRAL TRAIN STATION.

TOURING THE CITY ON A SEGWAY: IN MUNICH, YOU NEED A MOPED LICENSE.

// 3534 \\ COMPACT BUT CLEVER Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

BOBBING APPLES

At the Knill cider press near Lake Constance, the apples travel by water rather than conveyor belt. This protects the fruit on the way to pressing. Leaves and twigs are intercepted by a revolving screen, so they don’t end up inthe juice. The technology was developed by Passavant-Geiger. The subsidiary of Bilfinger Berger usually earns itsmoney with very different filters and presses — for treat-ing industrial sludge and sewage.

MATH SUPPORTS ECONOMICS

How to ensure that components interact efficiently over amaximum period of time is something that taxes not just engineers, but mathematicians too. At a power station thereare endless ways in which to lay pipes and combine bends,pressures, wall thicknesses and materials. And buildings are no different: even the slightest change has an impact onthe whole structure. Econometricians at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg are now working with Bilfinger Bergerto develop a mathematical model that will make it easier to arrive at the perfect solution. The project is scheduled forcompletion in three years.

FROM CRIME SCENE TO CREATURE COMFORTS

Forensic experts have long enjoyed the benefits of 360-degree cameraswith which they can record a complete crime scene and analyze the tini-est details. The data are regarded as immune to manipulation. bauperfor-mance, a Bilfinger Berger Group company, also uses one of these spheri-cal cameras to document buildings and prepare inspection reports. How-ever, those who benefit most are potential real estate customers. Insteadof reams of documents, all they need to know is on disk. As they tour thebuilding from their desktops, they can also view all of the operating in-structions and maintenance protocols for the systems that they see.

STREET VIEW — LITERALLY

Google Street View cars have cameras on their roofs. Thoseused by Bilfinger Berger Infrastructure Services, on the oth-er hand, have cameras under the rear. Two high-speed cam-eras record damage to the road. Then special software cat-egorizes the damage by type and urgency, calculates the op-timum repair time based on traffic volumes and the needsof local residents, and comes up with a neat and tidy main-tenance program — not just for now, but for the yearsahead. So those responsible for the roads can plan ahead forthe long term, instead of patrolling the streets with buck-ets of tar and asphalt after every winter.

BLAST WELDING

“A blast is an attempt to destroy something” according toWikipedia. But that isn’t always true. Steinmüller Africa ignitesexplosive charges to fuse components together, such as thepipe and the die plate in a heat exchanger. The charge ignitedin the end of the pipe creates a shock wave that expands thecomponent and presses it against the outer sleeve. Steinmülleris a Bilfinger Berger Group company based in South Africa.

BRIDGES BUILT OF WASTE

Building railway bridges out of plastic waste is unusual,to say the least. But Centennial, a US subsidiary of Bilfin-ger Berger, was commissioned to do just that in Fort Eustis, Virginia. From foundations to railroad ties, the twobridges are composed of recycled plastic bottles, car tiresand industrial plastics. “The material is comparativelycheap and the maintenance costs are virtually nil,” saysMike Halvorson of Centennial. And best of all, over 150tons of waste and almost 500 tons of greenhouse gasesare locked into the bridges.

CREATIVITY REVEALS ITSELF IN LITTLE THINGS — CLEVER IDEAS FROM BILFINGER BERGER

AN IMAGE FROM SONNENSTEIN CASTLE IN PIRMA, TAKEN WITH A SPHERICAL CAMERA. BILFINGER BERGER IS MODERNIZING AND WILL OPERATE THE BUILDING.

POTHOLES ARE CLASSIFIED AND MAPPED.

Photo: Axion International

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THE FARM WITH COWS AND PIGS NO LONGER PAID THE BILLS,SO HEINRICH SCHÄFER STARTED GERMANY’S FIRST SHRIMP FARM.T E X T / A N N E M E Y E R / / / P H OTO S / K AT H R I N H A R M S

/// When Heinrich Schäfer talks shrimps, he waxes lyrical about thepH value of the water and the way the animals tend to eat each oth-er. But then the conversation turns to the demise of agriculture.Gourmet chefs like Tim Raue and Johann Lafer, who order their trop-ical delicacies from him, may not know that the two stories are con-

nected. Heinrich Schäfer was born in 1949 in Affinghausen in LowerSaxony, on a farm that has been in his family’s possession for 450years. Each day he witnesses anew the agony of German farmers.Where once there were 50 farms in the area, now there are five.

Stepping inside what was once his machine shed, a blast of heat

Penaeus vannameiPacific white shrimps. Age: 6 months. Length: 20 centimeters. Weight: 25 grams.

hits him in the face. “32 degrees Celsius, 80 percent humidity,” he ex-plains, pulling off his parka. Behind a glass panel are 160,000 speci-mens of the species Penaeus vannamei, pacific white shrimps, swim-ming in large tanks: Schäfer runs the first and only shrimp farm inGermany. His equipment looks surprisingly primitive, almost as if hehad put it together himself out of rough timber and plastic sheet-ing. It is in fact a sophisticated and very delicate system. For fear ofimitators, he prefers to keep the technical details to himself; visitorsmust content themselves with looking through the glass panel.

There are tanks arranged on four levels. The five-day old larvaeflown in from Florida are introduced into the topmost tank. Over the

coming months they work their way down via drain pipes, one levelat a time. After six months they are swimming around in the harvesttank. At 20 centimeters in length and 25 grams in weight, they arean exotic delicacy, ready to be eaten. This largest tank occupies al-most the whole length of the shed, providing Heinrich Schäfer witha weekly harvest of around 10,000 shrimps.

SENSITIVE CANNIBALSA slim man stripped to the waist is taking a water sample. Schäfer'sson Marco spends all day in this heat, checking water quality andfeed. Fourteen times a day the shrimps are fed a mixture of soy meal,

// 39

peas, cereals and fish meal. The actual work is done automatically bymeter-high funnel-shaped feeders, but Marco Schäfer is constantlyemployed in recalibrating the volumes. Shrimps are very sensitive.“If they get too much, the water turns. Too little, and they eat one another,” says Heinrich Schäfer.

The demand for shrimps is high. Around 100 tons of deep-frozencrustaceans arrive in Germany every day, mainly from Asia and Lat-in America. But the imported product has a bad reputation. In Thai-land and Vietnam, mangrove forests are being cleared to make wayfor breeding tanks; sometimes the flesh contains residues of antibi-otics. Heinrich Schäfer uses no drugs in his tanks, and has samplestaken regularly by the veterinary college in Hanover. And his prod-uct tastes good: Schäfer sells his shrimps to Germany's finest restau-

rants for €39 per kilo — four times the price of discount store prod-ucts. He has found a niche.

A painting hangs on the wall in Heinrich Schäfer’s office. It showsthe family farm: an imposing house with sheds and barns, surround-ed by the family’s own land. A picture-book farm. “We used to have20 cows, and pigs and chickens too. We grew everything we needed.”But as long ago as the 1970s, Heinrich Schäfer became aware thatthere would be no future for the family in traditional farming. Hesold his livestock and set himself up as a contractor. He ploughed hisneighbors’ fields, harvested their crops and baled the straw. But af-ter a while this business also ceased to be worthwhile, and Schäfermoved on, this time to biogas. Since 2006 he has had two plantswhich are fueled with corn that he grows on his 100 hectares of land;

another 60 hectares of corn are bought in. Each morning he tipstwenty tons into the biogas units. The two mini power plants havean electrical output of 500 kilowatts, which is fed into the local grid.“That paid for itself right away,” says Schäfer.

BANKS REFUSED TO LENDThe waste heat from the biogas plants would have been enough for70 homes. “But there aren’t that many houses in Affinghausen,” saysSchäfer. Initially, the heat evaporated unused: “But I couldn't standthe waste.” He kept seeing television programs showing cookspreparing shrimps. He took his wife to a restaurant in Cuxhaven, andthe dish of the day was a shrimp platter. Then the idea came to him.Marco was dispatched to Texas to spend two months with the

renowned shrimp researcher Addison Lawrence. The months of studyat the experimental farm at Texas A&M University in Corpus Christipaid off. There is probably no one in Germany today who knows moreabout shrimp farming than Marco Schäfer. The villagers thought theSchäfers were crazy. The banks refused to lend them money, while theplanning and veterinary authorities were unsure whether they evenhad the power to approve a shrimp farm. Heinrich Schäfer couldn’tbelieve what was going on. “After all, it’s a product that’s in demandin the marketplace,” he says.

His shrimps are sold under the brand name Marella, which has aninternational, even exotic ring to it. In fact, the word is rooted in thenorthern German flatlands. “My granddaughters,” says Schäfer witha twinkle in his eye, “are called Maren, Nele and Mara.” //

Corn fuel Each ton of corn produces around 220 cubic meters of biogas

Fire and flame Schäfer’s plants produce 4,400 cubic metersof climate neutral biogas each day.

// 41

BIOMASS IS RAPIDLY CATCHING UP WITH OTHER RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES.NEW TECHNOLOGIES MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE EVEN TOLARGE-SCALE ENERGY SUPPLIERS.T E X T / DA N I E L A S I M P S O N

/// Farmers and eco-businesses are no longer the only ones inter-ested in slurry, straw and compost. The big players in the energymarket are also taking notice. Together with wind, water and so-lar energy, biomass has become the fourth component in the eco-logical energy mix. By the year 2020 the EU expects to cover at least20 percent of end-user energy consumption with renewablesources. Biomass is essential in that it is the only way of compen-sating for fluctuations in solar and wind energy supplies. The useof renewable raw materials is receiving massive support in mostEuropean countries.

BIOMASS POWER STATIONSIn the United Kingdom the conversion of fossil fuel power stationsto biomass is worthwhile even if the plants will only be operatingfor a few years. A major power station near London is being con-verted to burn wood pellets instead of coal, although the plant willbe taken out of service in four years at the latest. The owner is RWE,the first major energy company to develop a comprehensive bio-mass strategy. As part of this strategy, in May 2011 RWE acquiredone of the largest timber processing plants in the United States.The pellets produced by the plant will be supplied to Europeanpower stations that are converted either wholly or partly (“co-fir-ing”) to biomass.

Large-scale biomass power stations are also being built in theBenelux countries. In 2010, Bilfinger Berger converted a coal-firedpower station in Rodenhuize near Ghent for the Belgian energyprovider Electrabel. Since then, the plant has achieved a thermaloutput of 560 megawatts by burning wood pellets. The raw mate-rial comes from Canada.

BIOMETHANE WASHIn Germany such industrial-scale biomass power stations are notpart of the long-term plan. The German Renewable Energies Act

(EEG) primarily promotes small plants of up to 20 megawatts aswell as the use of combined heat and power. Nevertheless, biomassnow accounts for about a third of the country’s eco-power, and theproportion is steadily increasing. Most producers convert biogasinto electricity in combined heat and power plants. The crucialpoint is that substantially more energy, around 60 percent, is con-verted into heat rather than electricity. A huge proportion that hasto be used — again at least 60 percent — in order to qualify for sub-sidies.

For farms and some manufacturing industries, the numbers mayadd up. But not for the major energy suppliers. The latter are there-fore increasingly focusing on purifying biogas and feeding it intothe natural gas network. The purification process is complex. Thedesired methane comprises only half the biogas. The remainingcomponents — carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia — areharmful to the pipelines. BASF and Bilfinger Berger Industrial Serv-ices are using a specially-developed process to separate these fromthe biogas. After flushing with a type of washing solution, the re-maining methane is 99 percent pure — an innovation. The gas canthen be fed directly into the grid.

This new technology is already being used at two plants in cen-tral Germany, in Zörbig and Schwedt. Both are owned by Verbio, Eu-rope’s largest manufacturer of biofuels, and provide around a fifthof Germany’s entire natural biogas supply. The gas is recoveredfrom biofuel production residues. This is not merely extra businessfor Verbio, with an eye on the tightening of emissions trading rulesin 2013, it also improves the company’s CO2 balance sheet.

BIOHYDROGENBiomass not only lends itself to feeding the electricity and gasgrids, it also can be used to produce hydrogen. Thus far it has notbeen possible to produce hydrogen economically from biomass onan industrial scale. Now, in cooperation with a prominent gas pro-ducer, Bilfinger Berger has found a way.

The input material primarily consists of dry plant waste that isthermochemically treated. The result is a synthetic gas from whichhydrogen is produced. The gas also can be used to generate elec-tricity or to produce other chemical materials.

Rolf Schmitt from Bilfinger Berger Industrial Services is one of the inventors of the technology and he is convinced that: “Syntheticgas not only has a wide range of applications, but that it also can beproduced from various types of biomass. This means that we areplaying an active role in the development of renewable energy.” //

// 4342 \\ REAL ESTATE SECTOR Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

/// Another hour to go until the trade fair closes and the halls at Expo Real in Munich arebeginning to empty. The first groups of work-ers are hovering, waiting to start dismantlingthe stands. Nicole Lackmann and Dr. ChristianGlock are seated in white leather armchairs atthe Bilfinger Berger stand in Hall B1, lookingtired but satisfied. The two managers havespent the past three days at this commercialproperty fair talking about the Group’s newproduct, “one.” They have explained, argued,listened, and promoted the product. And theyhave repeated what Roland Koch, BilfingerBerger’s new Executive Board Chairman, saidon the first day of the show: “There is no oth-er product like this on the market.”

FULL COST GUARANTEESitting with them at the stand is ThomasSchober, Managing Director of the Sachsen-Fonds Group. His company manages invest-ments valued at around six billion euros forprivate and institutional investors. The bulk ofthe money is placed in funds specializing inlarge office properties — in Germany, Europeand overseas. “We are on the lookout world-wide for investment properties that tell a con-vincing story and are economically attractive,”says Thomas Schober.

The new concept from Bilfinger Berger of-fers what investors want, all the more so in tur-bulent times: long-term security with no un-pleasant surprises. “Time and again we have

looked for a deal such as “one,” but evidentlyno provider until now was in a position to offer such a thing,” says Schober.

What makes the product unique is the costpromise: “one” offers the client — whether it be a fund or a company with its own real estate portfolio — a guarantee that extendsover decades not just for the design and con-struction costs, but operating costs as well.“Throughout the entire life cycle of the build-ing we relieve clients of the risk that their

estimates will be undermined by unexpected repair and maintenance costs or a sudden increase in energy consumption,” explainsNicole Lackmann. If required, even servicessuch as cleaning, catering, security and mailcan be included in the cost guarantee.

“We already have years of experience withPPP projects: public private partnerships arebased on precisely such guarantees,” ChristianGlock continues. “We make an in-depth studyof all the details when we are designing abuilding and we constantly compare one solu-tion with another.” Nicole Lackmann agrees:“Our projects may be more expensive at the

initial investment stage, for example becausewe invest in better quality construction mate-rials or more costly technical services, but in so doing, in the long term, there are cost advantages to be gained of between ten and20 percent.”

Although “one” may be new for private investors, the concept has been tried and test-ed by Bilfinger Berger. Over the years, the com-pany has implemented more than 30 PPP proj-ects that combine design, construction and

operation over extended periods in Germanyalone. Clients have included cities, local au-thorities and federal states. The spectrumranges from parking garages to large admin-istrative centers. The private real estate sector,as SachsenFonds Managing Director ThomasSchober discloses at the stand in Munich, isripe for such a life cycle package. The privatesector has “long cast envious glances,” as the public sector enjoyed the benefits of all-inclusive packages with fixed cash flows.Now, with “one,” private investors have thesame opportunity. //

www.one.bilfinger.com

WITH “ONE” BILFINGER BERGER IS AIMING TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE REAL ESTATE WORLD:“ONE” OFFERS PRIVATE SECTOR CLIENTS THE SAME BENEFITS THAT, UNTIL NOW, HAVE BEEN RESERVED FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR.

T E X T / WO L FG A N G B R A N D / / / P H OTO / C H R I STO P H P Ü S C H N E R

“On behalf of our clients, we assumethe risk of dramatic increases in real estate costs.”

NICOLE LACKMANN AND DR. CHRISTIAN GLOCKHEAD UP THE “ONE” PROJECT.

// 4544 \\ DEVELOPMENT IN SRI LANKA Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

/// Wanni sits with his laptop under a mango tree. Abovehim, the spreading branches are interlaced with a tangledmesh of tropical vines, populated by geckos and humming-birds. The rice fields stretch out behind the house. For 38-year-old Nandasiri Wanninayka, better known as Wanni, afarmer’s son and English teacher, computer freak and so-cial entrepreneur, it’s a good place to upload a report to hiswebsite. Wanni’s village of Mahavilachchiya consists of lit-tle more than rice paddies and jungle dotted with home-steads, housing a population of 20,000. Most of them are

farmers who just manage to make ends meet. Rice is slow.Its rhythm follows the changing seasons, wet and dry, sow-ing and harvesting, twice a year.

ENGLISH IS THE KEYWanni climbs onto his moped and rides over the potholes,past a broadcasting tower that reaches just above the tree-tops. The Internet here is wireless. A network of smallrouters and computers, known as “mesh technology,” dis-tributes the signal over a broad area. Wanni stops in front

A TEACHER IN SRI LANKA USES THE INTERNET TO CONNECT ISOLATED VILLAGES WITH THE WIDER WORLD.HIS “E-VILLAGE” CONCEPT HAS WON MANY AWARDS AND FOUND MANY IMITATORS.

T E X T / M I C H A E L G L E I C H / / / P H OTO S / PAU L H A H N

of a modern two-story building. The computer school is hisheadquarters. From here, he has succeeded in turning hisbirthplace into a model “e-village,” as Wanni describes hisconcept of connecting jungle villages to the data highway.“My objective is access,” he explains. “Despite their isola-tion, people should still be able to access information, makecontacts and find good jobs.” His sponsorship organizationHorizon Lanka finances computer schools, courses for vil-lagers, teacher training and the mesh technology that en-ables even the remotest farmsteads to connect to the Net.

And yet for Wanni, the Internet is just a means to an end:“The Internet is English, and English is the key that unlocksthe door to the world.” Although English is one of the coun-try’s official languages, most villagers speak only Tamil orSinghalese. But give them a computer, and even the mostreluctant pupils soon learn. Phrases such as “pleasedelete” and “game over” are just the beginning. Then theystart, for instance, creating PowerPoint presentations us-ing fashion photos, and typing their first short essays inthis foreign language. Teachers trained by Horizon Lanka

NANDASIRI WANNINAYKA, OR SIMPLY WANNI: TEACHER AND AID WORKER, FARMER’S SON AND COMPUTER FREAK.

// 4746 \\ DEVELOPMENT IN SRI LANKA Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

report that learning rates soar when pupils are allowed touse computers. Wanni himself was fortunate that his par-ents sent him to college. He became a teacher, found a jobin Colombo — and was deeply homesick. But he was unwill-ing to give up on the expansive cosmopolitan atmospherehe had come to appreciate in the capital. Which is why hecame up with the idea of connecting his village to the Internet. He worked out a concept, did the math, wrote applications and asked international organizations forhelp — and received it. In Sri Lanka, too, he met with a positive response: In 2006 a local company paid for the

sport. Some of the older ones have their own blogs wherethey post stories of village life. Teachers from all over theregion come here to learn how to integrate computers in-to the curriculum.

“Initially, a lot of the parents were suspicious of us,” saysWanni. “So we got them involved from the very beginning.”Meanwhile, PCs can be found not just in the school in Ma-havilachchiya, but in many of the farmhouses — as well asin 50 other communities that have become “e-villages” inthe same way.

The Sampath family farmstead lies concealed behind atall hedge. Heavy, head-high sacks are stacked in the livingroom, flush against the furniture. The last harvest has notyet been sold. Tharanga Sampath, 20, the son of the house,logs onto the stock exchange in Colombo. He has invested10,000 rupees, around 65 euros and about a month’swages, in shares in a glass manufacturer. He bought themsix months ago. Now he points proudly to the share priceon screen. His calculations were correct and the stock hasrisen substantially. Tharanga smiles shyly. “I want to be abanker,” he says. A dream career for the son of a rice farmer.

first radio mast. Since then, Mahavilachchiya has been online 24 hours a day. Far away, but far ahead: Wanni is fairly sure that Sri Lanka’s first Skype call was made underhis favorite mango tree.

SURFING IS A TEAM SPORTHaving arrived at the computer school, Wanni joins thekids. The row of monitors along the wall act as windows ona wider world. The youngsters gather in noisy groupsaround the screens, girls in their white school dresses andboys in blue shorts and white shirts. Surfing is a team

In the evening, Nandasiri Wanninayka heads for the swim-ming pond, as he often does. Flights of bats patrol the indi-go sky, as if to protect this village idyll. As Wanni enters thewater and bobs rhythmically up and down, enjoying the wa-ter, the carpet of lotus leaves undulates in time with hismovements. Around him are children snorting and splutter-ing with laughter. “This here is our swimming pool, washingmachine and community center, all in one,” Wanni jokes. Likea nest, the village is warm, close and tight-knit — “That’ssomething you rarely find in the cities.” Wanni needs the relaxed pace of home, like the ground beneath his feet. //

THE INTERNET HERE IS WIRELESS. A TOTAL OF 2,000 BROADCASTING TOWERS HAVE BEEN ERECTED.

YOUNG PEOPLE GATHER FOR RELIGION LESSONS; WANNI QUICKLY CHECKS HIS MAILS.

PROJECT WORKERS INSTALL NEW ROUTERS IN THE COMPUTERS.

WINDOW ON THE WORLD: THARANGA (LEFT) USES THE SUPER-FAST WLAN CONNECTION TO INVEST ON THE STOCK MARKET IN COLOMBO.

A NEARBY POND SERVES AS BOTH PUBLIC BATH AND COMMUNITY CENTER.

THE SCHOOL DAY STARTS WITH DUSTING. THE PUPILS KNOW THE VALUE OF THE SPONSORED TECHNOLOGY.

// 4948 \\ NEWS Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012

ROSI N K ACQUISITION

BOILER ENGINEERING PATENTSBilfinger Berger continues to expand its Power Services activitieswith the acquisition of Rosink Apparate- und Anlagenbau GmbHin Nordhorn, Germany. Rosink is a leading supplier of heating sur-face cleaning systems and finned tubes. Some important patentsalso transfer to Bilfinger Berger as part of the deal.

The takeover will supplement Bilfinger Berger’s business activitiesin the manufacturing and assembly of waste heat boilers, the efficiency of which is largely determined by the dimensioning offinned tubes. The company can now offer complete boilers for com-bined cycle power plants.

DI EMME FI LTRATION

INDUSTRIAL FILTER TECHNOLOGYBilfinger Berger has acquired the filterbusiness activities of Diemme, basedin Lugo, Italy. Bilfinger has been in-volved in the production of chamberfilter presses for many years throughits subsidiary Passavant-Geiger. Theacquisition will see the company ad-vance to become a technology leaderin the industry.

Diemme Filtration has an annualoutput volume of €40 million and apresence in more than 20 countries,including India, Russia and SouthAmerica. Filter presses are used to sep-arate solids and liquids, such as indus-trial slurry or sewage. The pharmaceu-tical, chemical and petrochemical in-dustries, as well as the mining andsteel sectors also use the technologyto extract raw materials.

MEASUREMENT AN D CONTROL SYSTEMS

BILFINGER BERGER EXPANDSINDUSTRIAL SERVICESBilfinger Berger Industrial Services has ac-quired Alpha Mess-Steuer-Regeltechnik GmbHin Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany. Thecompany provides an extensive range ofservices mainly for the gas, chemical and en-ergy industries. With a workforce of 120, thecompany has an annual output volume ofaround €17 million and was previously ownedby Funkwerk AG. Prominent customers includeE.ON, RWE, BASF, DOW and Linde.

BIOTECH NOLOGY

MAJOR ORDER FROMGENZYMEBilfinger Berger Industrial Services has wona major order from the biotechnology indus-try in Belgium. In a project valued at around€300 million in the town of Geel, the com-pany is installing a production plant for the

biotech company Genzyme, part of theSanofi pharmaceutical group. At the heart ofthe new plant are two production lines, eachwith a 4,000 liter bioreactor for the produc-tion of a drug to treat enzyme deficiency. Bil-finger Berger is responsible for erecting theplant and installing the piping systems.Completion is scheduled for fall 2012.

CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR INDUSTRIAL PLANTS: ACQUISITION OF ALPHA.

BILFINGER BERGER NOW OFFERS COMPLETE BOILERS.

CORRECTIONAL FACI LITY N EAR DARWI N

AUSTRALIAN PPP PRISONBilfinger Berger Project Investments will design, finance, buildand operate a prison for a 30-year period in Australia’s NorthernTerritory. The prison, with a capacity for over 800 inmates, will replace an existing facility. In addition, there will be facilities for psychological care and social rehabilitation with an overall ca-pacity of 78.

The Darwin Correctional Precinct will be the third prison builtby Bilfinger Berger in Australia as a public private partnership(PPP). Bilfinger Berger holds a 50 percent stake in the project company and will be making an equity investment of about €30 million.

BI LFI NGER BERGER PROJ ECT I NVESTMENTS

SALE OF UP TO 19 PPP PROJECTS Bilfinger Berger intends to introduce a publicly-listed fund inwhich it will place up to 19 public private partnership projectsfrom its current portfolio of 30 concession projects. These includeavailability-based road projects and social infrastructure projectsacross the key markets continental Europe, the United Kingdom,Canada and Australia. The assets in the fund will be predomi-nantly operational and revenue generating. The Group has a total equity commitment of €161 million in the 19 project com-panies.

Shares in the new fund are intended to be listed on the pre-mium segment of the London Stock Exchange with a placementvolume of up to £245 million (up to €280 million). Shares in thefund will be offered for sale to institutional investors at a pre-determined price. Bilfinger Berger will commit to a strategic investment of at least 19.9 percent of the fund’s equity.

J ULIUS BERGER N IGERIA

INVESTMENT TO BE REDUCEDBilfinger Berger intends to reduce its stake in Julius Berger Nigeria PLC (JBN) from 49 percent to an initial 40 percent, with a further reduction planned at a later date. JBN is also to acquire the engineering and services activities of Bilfinger Berger Nigeria GmbH, based in Wiesbaden. These activities currently account for an output volume of approximately €350million. Bilfinger Berger is taking these steps in support of effortsby Nigeria’s lawmakers to increase local content in the economyand strengthen the country’s expertise. In future, Bilfinger Berger will restrict its commitments in this West African coun-try to financial investments.

FACI LITY SERVICES

FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT WITH DEUTSCHE BANKOver the next five years, Bilfinger Berger will assume respon-sibility for the complete facility management on behalf ofDeutsche Bank for all 1,300 properties used by the bank in Germany. The order is the largest Bilfinger Berger has ever re -ceived for its facility services business. In addition to technicaland commercial services, Bilfinger Berger is also responsible forthe management and execution of extensive infrastructuralservices, among other things. Deutsche Bank has been a pre-mium client for many years.

ALSO IMPLEMENTED BY BILFINGER BERGER AS A PPP PROJECT: BURG PRISON IN GERMANY.

THE NEW PPP FUND ALSO INCLUDES PROJECTS SUCH AS HOSPITALS.

50 \\ PORTRAIT Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2012 // 51

A year ago you became a mother for the first time. If youwere to give your daughter one piece of advice, what wouldit be?Listen to your instincts, and try to keep listening to them,even in adulthood. Name something that you believe is overrated.I have the feeling that a lot of people are only interestedin power. If they want to change something, all well andgood. But if all they want to do is order others around, thenpower is overrated, because it doesn’t bring happiness. Could you imagine living life as an animal? Cats are independent and very graceful, I like that. I couldlie on the couch all day and catch a mouse now and then.What’s your favorite pastime?I eat with great pleasure. And sometimes I really do purrlike a cat. I love going out to eat, and I love cooking withfriends or just with my husband. Do you sometimes say yes even when you mean no?I try to avoid doing that, but I never quite manage it entire-ly. At work for example, when I want to go home and some-one asks, “can you just do this quickly?” Then I will say yes,even when I mean no.What are you grateful for?For my husband, for my one-year-old daughter Nola, for myfamily, for my friends. For the fact that we live as we do, thatwe have a garden, that we are healthy and that things aregoing well for us.What fills you with hope?Last week we went for a walk and everyone we met greetedus with a smile, just because we had a child with us.What could you do without?I could do without dust around the house. I could do with-out all the junk mail that lands in my mail box. And some-times I can even manage without chocolate.Your greatest achievement?I studied business administration and afterwards worked fora bank. But that didn’t suit me, so I gave up a well-paid job,

studied PR and started as an intern. That’s how I came to Bil-finger Berger. I regard it as an achievement that, instead ofstaying in my comfort zone at the bank, I went back to thedrawing board to do something that I enjoy.Who in the world would you most like to meet?The singer Pink. I sing myself, and when I experienced herlive I was absolutely fascinated by her voice. She has a pres-ence on stage that is simply breathtaking. She’s also justhad a child, so I’m sure we would get along well.How do you recognize true love?When you can just be yourself, and feel totally secure. I also think you recognize love when you stop putting outfeelers in other directions. Of course I am aware of othermen, but I am very convinced that I couldn’t ever be betteroff with anyone than I am with my husband. Maybe that’strue love.What do you admire in men?Their naturalness. My impression is that men in generalare better able to accept themselves as they are.What do you admire in women?The fact that they are generally better at putting them-selves in other people’s shoes. Can you recite a poem by heart?When I was in 12th grade I learned Shakespeare’s SonnetNo. XVIII by heart. Of course it’s a love poem: “Shall I com-pare thee to a summer’s day? …”What can you not forgive?When someone lies to me, I see red. Trust is something thatis very important to me.What are some of the things that you can only toleratewith humor?The madness of everyday life. When I reach into the med-icine cabinet in the morning for the skin cream and the de-odorant falls out. When I have to go to huge lengths atwork just to clear up one little detail. When I’m sitting ina traffic jam. I have a clown’s nose in the car, and once anda while I put it on. //

BARBARA STEFFEN, 30, RETURNED TO WORK IN NOVEMBER FORTWO DAYS A WEEK AFTER A TWELVE-MONTH MATERNITY LEAVE. SHE WORKS IN THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT AT THE BILFINGER BERGER BUILDING IN FRANKFURT.

I N T E RV I E W / PAU L L A M P E / / / P H OTO / E R I C VA Z ZO L E R

AROUND 60,000 PEOPLE WORLDWIDEWORK FOR BILFINGER BERGER.

EACH HAS THEIR OWN STORY TO TELL.

BARBARASTEFFEN

www.magazine.bilfinger.com