"We built this city" was sung by the American rock band Starship in 1985 and landed a world hit. The band's name and song could not be more fitting for the Free City: The Free City will take off like a futuristic spaceship to new worlds - on a mission to fundamentally change the world. Before the launch of our starship, there is still a checklist to be worked through: The building process.
But first things first: The concentrated innovative power of the Free City will be created on a total area of approximately 6,000 m2. At the speed of light: The opening is already planned for the first quarter of 2023. Located in the commercial area of Freistadt, the Free City offers excellent connections to public transport and the highway as well as large parking areas with more than 70 parking spaces. The flagship project works as a signpost for its visitors - it can literally be seen from the highway!
Moreover, the Free City also leads the way in terms of sustainability. The building is being constructed with 100% recyclable material and exclusively sustainable building materials. Therefore, no putty or similar building materials are used and concrete is only used where it is statically necessary.
Not only sustainable building materials are used, but the Free City will also be operated with as few emissions as possible: This allows for the profound integration of renewable energies. Thus, all five surfaces of the building will be equipped with PV systems - the north, east, south and west as well as the roof. This makes maximum use of the photovoltaic potential on site and the production of decentralised renewable energy is already integrated into design of the building.
In this way, the sustainability of the Free City is visible from all directions. The energy that is not currently needed is stored in battery storages. However, the building is also sustainable with regard to other aspects than energy generation and storage and the certified building materials: great importance is also attached to the quality of daylight, the promotion of biodiversity at the site and socio-cultural aspects.
The Free City is striving for the highest certification level - Platinum & Crystal - of the DGNB certificate of the Austrian Society for Sustainable Real Estate ("Österreichische Gesellschaft für nachhaltige Immobilienwirtschaft" - ÖGNI). This certificate evaluates buildings not according to individual criteria, but according to their overall performance. The assessment is based on the three pillars of sustainability, which are rated equally highly: Ecology, economy and social issues.
The builder of the Free City was therefore committed to meeting these high standards. In order to achieve more than 80% of the prescribed points, there must be comprehensive planning with a high degree of attention to specific aspects. Only in this way future tenants of the Free City will be able to enjoy well-being, air quality, technology and resilience.
A large CO2 savings potential is realised not only by the energy supply, but also by the anchoring of e-mobility: 70 charging points turn the location into an e-mobility hub. The entire energy system, from energy generation by means of photovoltaic systems to electricity storage and charging stations, was implemented by neoom using neoom products.
The inner values of the Free City are also a match made in heaven - or shall we say in space? This can already be seen in the high-quality future tenants - in addition to neeom and the regional partner 'wir sind solar', which installs neoom products, the Free City will also be home to a tax advisor and lawyer specialising in energy law. The departments Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, IT, Software, Production, Warehousing, R&D will move into the Free City as neoom's new company headquarters and provide space for 180-250 employees.
Everyone will find their place in the Free City: employees of the business units of neoom and Imhotep.Industries can develop their ideas in their dedicated working areas and regenerate in the canteen with sustainable and partly vegan food. Visitors and system partners can recharge their batteries in the THE POWER HUS café after viewing the electrifying neoom products in the showroom and buying souvenirs in the merchandising shop.
Since no progress is possible without further development, a lot of space is also given to the acquisition of knowledge in the Free City: a training campus for staff members and an academy for system partners as well as meeting rooms and event spaces offer sufficient room for innovation.
The Free City is thus a flagship project in many ways: it shows how a truly sustainable building can succeed, illustrates the visionary spirit of the region and thus makes the Freistadt location appealing to highly talented employees. The Free City is itself an innovation - and thus a symbol of the concentrated innovative power of its inhabitants. So that we can all change the world together with our system partners, employees and customers!