Saarland Ministry of Cultural Affairs

The former headquarters of the Saarland Ministry of Culture, known as the Pingusson Building, was designed by French architect Georges Henri Pingusson as the French Embassy building and completed in 1954. The listed building complex consists of a nine-storey high-rise slab (the former chancellery) and an elaborately furnished two-storey low-rise building (the former residence of the ambassador). The high-rise was constructed as an uninsulated reinforced concrete structure, while the low-rise building was a mixed construction.

Due to extensive damage to the concrete façades and a wide range of energy and technical deficiencies, the entire building complex was in need of fundamental renovation.

The Veauthier Meyer office compiled a comprehensive inventory with architectural history documentation, digital plans, photo documentation with a room book, and documentation of the historical building technology. Based on the inventory and various expert reports (concrete, building physics, building climate control, building services), options for renovating the façade in line with conservation guidelines were developed and weighed up against each other.