Labor new construction of WALA in Bad Boll completed

Through the oval shape and the landscape-oriented design, the chosen architecture also reflects the company's core principles of WALA. © Drees & Sommer

In early May 2017, the first employees moved into the newly constructed laboratory building of WALA Heilmittel GmbH in Bad Boll. The company's philosophy was at the forefront of planning and construction: on the one hand, the project adhered to high sustainability standards. On the other hand, WALA emphasized minimizing interventions in nature as much as possible. Drees & Sommer was responsible for project management to ensure compliance with the agreed costs, schedules, and quality standards.

WALA expanded its existing site in Bad Boll with new laboratories and space for approximately 180 employees. The laboratory new building, the first of several possible buildings on the future WALA campus, was completed at the end of April. It encompasses more than 5,000 square meters of usable space, primarily for laboratories of analytical development and research, quality control, and microbiology. The quality control department conducts release analyses of all raw materials and finished products. Since moving into the building, around 1,000 different raw materials have been examined for identity and purity, among other things.

Overall, WALA invested approximately 30 million euros in the new building and the outdoor facilities. The location in a water protection area on the "Thermal Meadows" posed planning and organizational challenges, in which the life sciences team from Drees & Sommer provided project management support to WALA. The manufacturer of anthroposophical WALA medicines and Dr. Hauschka natural and organic cosmetics places great importance on harmony between humans and nature. Therefore, WALA, together with Drees & Sommer, evaluated and optimized its own principles for sustainable construction.

The new building is environmentally friendly in its lighting. The energy concept includes, among other things, a heat recovery system, photovoltaic modules on the roof, and a pellet heating system. This allows the new building to exceed the requirements of EnEV 2014 by about 25%. During the construction process, WALA also focused on environmentally friendly and conservation measures: the excavated material suitable for agricultural use was transported to suitable cultivation areas nearby. With the help of protective measures and additional biotope areas, the local Linden Prachtkäfer and sand lizards were also preserved.