Space Management at TU Braunschweig

Space Management

A procedure for the systematic inventory and needs-based allocation of used floor space

Buildings, rooms, and premises are among a university's most valuable resources. Any space that is not used efficiently can lead to excessive resource consumption due to operating, renovation, and, in some cases, rental costs, which runs counter to the sustainability goals of the state of Lower Saxony and TU Braunschweig, and, not least, to the prudent use of taxpayer funds. That is why Technische Universität Braunschweig has set itself the goal of implementing a needs-based system for allocating space in the future. In this context, space refers to all rooms used by institutes, departments, and organizational units.

The specific purpose of the space management process is to obtain a data-driven, reliable overview of space utilization across all organizational units at TU Braunschweig and to present this information in a professional format as a space inventory (target vs. actual use comparison). This assessment then serves as the basis for space planning and allocation aimed at a more efficient space utilization.

Background and Objectives

Space planning and allocation at Technische Universität Braunschweig is driven by both external motivations, stemming from outside stakeholders and requirements, and internal motivations, which originate directly within the university itself.

External motivations: State policy guidelines (primarily from the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony and the State Audit Office) require the university to ensure “efficient space utilization” and, to that end, to introduce a “suitable space management model.”
Internal motivations: We are proactively developing an assessment and management process tailored to the university’s needs, in part to preempt any “top-down directives.” We gain a current and updatable overview of how space is being used across the entire university and optimize the allocation and utilization of available space.

Objective

The management of space at TU Braunschweig is needs-based, transparent, fair, and dynamic.
A streamlined process ensures that space surpluses and shortages are balanced out.
There is a high degree of flexibility thanks to the designation of project spaces: “breathing” spaces.

Basic Concept and Approach

The goal – which has now been achieved – was to establish a professional, comprehensive, and updatable accounting process, linked to a fair, holistic, user-friendly management process tailored to the university’s needs. In addition, the goal was to achieve a high degree of automation in data flows and internal processes, while ensuring clarity and intuitive usability.

Department 37, Space Management, is responsible for coordinating the project, developing its content, and ensuring its ongoing maintenance, further development, and supervision. project manager and contact

The Space Management Project was developed using the current approach in the 2021-2025 period. During the development phase, rheform GmbH (similar to HIS-HE) was brought in as an external service provider (2021-2023) and tasked with co-developing the accounting model and Excel tool, as well as providing consulting services.

The six faculties were involved from the very beginning and participated in regular meetings:

by 2025 in the AG Fläche [Working Group Space]
starting in 2026, as the Flächenbeirat [Space Utilization Advisory Board]

Flächensteuerung Flächenbeirat EN — Composition of the Space Utilization Advisory Board

So-called plausibility review meetings have been held (and continue to be held as needed) with all six faculties (involving the managing directors and space coordinators in each case) – and, as necessary, with the central facilities and central administration as well. This rigorous validation process ensures that any ambiguities in the model are addressed, major errors are corrected in advance, and the specific characteristics of the respective organizational units are appropriately taken into account.

By mid-2025, the project’s development phase had been completed in all major respects, and space management had been introduced as an ongoing process at Technische Universität Braunschweig, following a decision by the Executive Board and confirmation by the Senate. This year marks the first time a university-wide space inventory has been compiled – initially for office space.

In mid-2026, the space inventory will be expanded to include the categories of laboratories as well as storage and teaching space, and will henceforth be updated annually in this format. The space inventory will be made available to the relevant internal university stakeholders.

Implementation and Parameters

For each organizational unit, a target-and-actual value comparison of space utilization is calculated – that is, a space inventory that compares the current actual space usage with the target space usage (calculated space requirement) determined using a specific methodology.

Such an inventory is prepared in the same manner for all organizational units at TU Braunschweig. Only the primary usable floor space (NUF 1-6) is included in the calculation; appliance rooms, passageways, etc., are not. For an explanation of floor space, please see FAQ.

The space is categorized into four categories:

Classroom space
Office space (including ancillary office areas, such as copy rooms, meeting rooms, etc.)
Laboratory space (including workshops, laboratory peripherals, practice rooms, etc.)
Storage space

The requirements for office space are governed by guidelines issued by the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony (MWK), which can be found here (see number 4.2 Büroflächenansätze Universitäten [Office Space Allocations for Universities]). The space requirements for laboratories, etc., are in turn based on benchmarks and the expertise of Rheform GmbH; for more information see FAQ.

In addition to these input variables, other parameters are incorporated into the system; the key input data include:

Available space
Staff numbers
Student enrollment
Qualitative parameters
Courses or teaching loads

The data is collected as of a specific date and updated once a year: personnel data as of December 1, floor space data as of December 31.

Flächensteuerung Detaillierung EN — Level of detail in space inventory and planning

In addition, the methodology also takes into account a so-called reduction factor (or space overlap factor); for more information see FAQ.

The entire methodology was reviewed, confirmed and endorsed by the Ministry for Science and Culture of Lower Saxony (MWK), which also highlighted it as groundbreaking.

To illustrate the points made above, here is a concrete example of a possible outcome of space utilization inventory. The results chart and the results overview for a single fictitious institute are shown here.

Flächensteuerung Beispiel Bilanzierungsergebnis EN — Results chart and results overview for a single example institute

In this example, the difference between the actual figure (223 m²) and the target figure (182 m²) in the office category is +41 sq m (+22%). This means that the organizational unit in question currently has about one-fifth more space available than the calculated requirement (target) specifies. The situation is different in the laboratory category. There is a calculated shortfall of 75 m² in terms of floor space (see the difference between the purple and light gray bars). The light gray bar, which represents the usable space, is always the most important factor to consider first – see the reduction factor; an explanation of this can be found in the FAQ

Although the analysis revealed a surplus of office space, this finding need not be a cause for concern. Since space management can only be effectively implemented on a broad scale and responsibility lies with the individual faculties (see the section on Implementation and Parameters), such an individual result (per organizational unit) will serve merely as a starting point for taking a closer look at the situation within the department and the faculty. Across all categories, there is actually a calculated shortfall of 42 m². The Managing Director of the Faculty will gain a comprehensive understanding of the situation through dialogue with the respective heads of the institutes, the Vice President for Human Resources, Finance and Infrastructure (HVP), and Department 37 – Space Management – and often already has an intuitive sense of how to interpret the situation and whether action is needed.

Flowchart of the Space Management Process

The diagram outlines the key aspects of the annual space management process. The dates listed refer to the current calendar year.

The entire process is overseen and monitored by the aforementioned Space Utilization Advisory Board.

In this context, other key responsibilities of the Space Utilization Advisory Board and Department 37 include identifying opportunities for improvement, addressing hardship cases, and making adjustments and fine-tuning.