On January 31, AIDA Cruises celebrated the roofing ceremony of its new office building complex, AIDA Home, at the Rostock city harbor. The company used this traditional ceremony as a chance to thank all construction companies and partners involved. Seven months after the cornerstone was officially laid on June 20, 2013, the shell of the building has been completed and interior construction is proceeding. Completion is planned for the summer of 2014.

“With the new construction of AIDA Home, we are continuing our successful course of growth on land as well. We would like to thank all our partners, the Hanseatic City of Rostock, and the State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, who have stood by us during this project and provided support,” Michael Ungerer, President AIDA Cruises, declared in the presence of employees and numerous guests from politics and business. Guests included the CEO of the Costa Group Michael Thamm, the Minister of Economy Harry Glawe, the Minister of the Interior and of Sports Lorenz Caffier, and the Minister of Energy, Infrastructure, and State Development Christian Pegel. “For us, this is also a clear commitment to the location of Rostock and the State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. Our need for well-educated and qualified personnel is growing and this is a place where we can offer our employees an attractive living and working environment.”

The local economy also benefits from this growth. There are 16 companies from Mecklenburg-West Pomerania with about 130 employees working on the construction of AIDA Home alone.

Designed by Rostock architect Tilo Ries, the new construction “AIDA Home” is made up of two connected buildings in which design elements of the existing AIDA office complex “Silo 4 & Silo 5” as well as typical design elements of the AIDA ships are incorporated. A light-flooded Theatrium in the entrance area, reaching up through two levels and connecting the respective six- and five-level buildings, forms the heart and communicative hub of the building. Besides housing a cafeteria, the Theatrium will provide sufficient space for events. Even the office spaces have been designed to be open and light.

AIDA Cruises also wants to be a forerunner in sustainable construction by constructing the new office building in accordance with the latest environmental standards. AIDA Home will be heated and cooled using a combination of geothermal technology, compression refrigeration, and district heating. AIDA Home will also feature a modern indoor climate concept with hybrid facade, thermal component activation, displacement ventilation as well as radiant heating and cooling ceiling panels. This guarantees a perfect working climate any time of the year. Efficient lighting and a lighting control system ensure good visibility. This will result in up to 60 percent energy savings and considerably reduced CO2 emissions.

AIDA Cruises currently has a staff of more than 800 employees at the Rostock site. Starting in the summer of 2014, the new 10,500 m² AIDA Home office building complex will be the new workplace for up to 400 employees.

AIDA is the market leader in the German cruise market. Ten modern cruise ships that are operated according to the highest international quality, environment, and safety standards currently belong to the fleet. The AIDA fleet will expand to 12 ships by 2016. Further information about the company can be found at www.aida.de