Groundbreaking ceremony for our new building

It’s official: The construction of our research building gets underway. In bright sunshine, the first sod was turned on the construction site, marking the kick-off of construction work for the research building that will house Modellfabrik Papier’s own premises. “The building, with around 5,400 square meters of floor space, has been tailored precisely to our needs,” explained MFP Managing Director Peter Bekaert. “Four laboratories and a large technical center with flexible floor space offer optimal conditions for collaborative cutting-edge research with our partners and the development of pilot plants for new paper manufacturing technologies.” The building’s design marks the innovative character of the Modellfabrik Papier in many ways.

Rethinking paper production

As a triple helix project involving industry, science, and public funding bodies, the Modellfabrik Papier aims to achieve energy savings of 80 percent in paper production by 2045. “We are leaving the beaten track in close cooperation with industry and science and rethinking paper production: from basic research on a laboratory scale to prototype development and the validation of disruptive innovations on a larger scale, to scaling up to higher levels of technological maturity and transfer to industrial application,” says Bekaert. “The building is ideal for this and, with its technical development possibilities, offers us the greatest possible flexibility for the research challenges of the future.”

A showcase project with an impact beyond the region

Innovationsquartier Düren GmbH (IQ.DN), a sister company of the municipal economic development agency (WIN.DN) and the building’s developer, has received around 40 million euros in structural change funds from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for the new construction. With the groundbreaking ceremony, the innovation quarter will now become a central location for sustainable research and development, said IQ.DN Managing Director Winfried Kranz-Pitre.

Since 2020, a total of around 68 million euros in funding for planning, construction, infrastructure, and research has been secured through the collaboration between IQ.DN, WIN.DN, and Modellfabrik Papier.

Modellfabrik Papier shows how transformational change can work, emphasised North Rhine-Westphalia’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs Silke Krebs, highlighting its supraregional significance: “It builds on proven expertise in the region and develops it further in a targeted manner.” The research work not only secures jobs locally and in the region, but also provides pioneering impulses for competitiveness and climate neutrality throughout the entire paper industry.

A model for the city of tomorrow

The research building also sets new standards in terms of architecture: the aim is to achieve the highest sustainability standard for non-residential buildings. This includes circular building materials, green facades, retention roofs for rainwater retention and cooling, photovoltaic modules, and a highly efficient heat pump. The goal is to obtain certification according to the platinum standard of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB).

Local general contractor takes over construction

A general contractor from Aachen has been commissioned to carry out the construction work. David Macherey, managing director of the construction company Derichs u Konertz, is enthusiastic: “A project like this requires careful planning and preparation in terms of construction scheduling.” The construction company will now coordinate all construction work—from commissioning subcontractors and supervising all trades to handing over the finished building ready for occupancy. “We are all the more delighted that work is starting on site and that the Düren innovation district will undergo major changes over the coming months.”

A landmark gateway to the city

For Düren’s mayor, Frank Peter Ullrich, the start of construction is a powerful signal for the new quarter, which ranks among the most ambitious urban development projects in the region: “Innovative solutions are being created here that will secure the future of the region.” A total of between 400 and 500 million euros will be invested there. Initial construction work has started on the 11.5-hectare site: Two other buildings, a school and a bicycle parking garage, are already taking shape on the site, which stretches between the Schoellerbrücke bridge and the transition to the train station.

An AR flight video shows what the innovation quarter will look like with the Modellfabrik Papier building on Youtube.

With its striking wooden façade resembling folded paper, the new research building will be a landmark for the location. The building is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.