What was planned as the IT campus of an Achern software company has become a living piece of the city centre: a place where living, working, a hotel and everyday life come together – conceived sustainably, built together, right by the park.
How an idea became a whole quarter
At the beginning there was no site, but a decision. Marco Beicht, who grew up in the Ortenau region and founded the fast-growing software company powercloud, was looking for a new company headquarters. Many locations would have made sense – but Beicht wanted to stay where his roots are.
Home as the starting point
powercloud develops software for energy suppliers and, within a few years, had grown from an idea into an internationally recognised provider. Rather than moving away to a big city, the choice deliberately fell on Achern. From this attachment to home grew a bigger idea: not merely to erect an office building, but to give something back to the town.
A site with a past
In 2020 Beicht's project company KAREMHA real estate acquired a roughly 20,000 m² section of the Illenauwiesen – a site on the edge of the historic Illenau that had been used by the military for decades and had largely lain fallow afterwards. From an unused meadow in the middle of the town, a coherent quarter was to emerge.
More than a company HQ
From the outset the campus was more than a workplace. Under the guiding idea “the energy transition arrives in Achern”, around 140 apartments, a hotel, offices, commercial units and daily services took shape on a largely car-free site – operated CO₂-neutrally, with greened roofs and its own solar power. Around 105 million euros went into a project meant to rethink living and working together.
“I live in Achern, and I don't want to leave.”
Two building plots, one quarter
Construction began in summer 2021 – across two building plots that went up in parallel, with a slight time offset. Two permanently installed construction cameras captured the work from different perspectives; their time-lapses do not show two building phases one after another, but two viewpoints of the same construction period. In 2022 the shell of the first plot was standing; in late 2023 powercloud moved into its new headquarters.
A new name
What the press initially called the “IT campus” or “powercloud campus” took on the name of its location during construction: Illenauwiesen Campus. In 2024 the quarter was complete – today people live and work here side by side, with a hotel, dining and services on the doorstep. A decision to stay home has become a piece of the town.
From idea to finished quarter
Six milestones from the first council decision to the occupied campus.
Green light from the town council
Achern's town council approves the urban-planning concept for the Illenauwiesen by a clear majority – the basis for offices, apartments, a hotel and a public park on the Mühlbach.
Purchase contract for the site
Mayor Klaus Muttach and Marco Beicht sign the contract for around 20,000 m². The planned investment: around 105 million euros.
Groundbreaking
Together with state minister Nicole Razavi, the starting signal is given; from August the diggers move in. Razavi: “This is what the urban future can look like.”
Topping-out ceremony for building plot 1
The shell of the first building plot – with hotel, offices and apartments – is up; in parallel, excavation of building plot 2 is already under way.
powercloud moves in
The software company moves into its new headquarters on the campus – the core of the original idea becomes reality.
From IT campus to Illenauwiesen Campus
The quarter is complete: living, working, hotel and services in one place – today under the name Illenauwiesen Campus.
Why – in the founder's words
Originally conceived as powercloud's IT campus, the quarter was from the start more than a company HQ – a model for sustainable living and working. Founder and developer Marco Beicht has described the idea in numerous interviews.
It has to be smart – we want to generate more energy than we consume without emissions, and it's about the future of living.
The view into the park and the spacious design create a very high quality of work and living.
The IT Campus Achern is an innovative pilot project that will point the way for the housing sector of tomorrow.
We wanted to find a place with a high quality of life, somewhere top talent likes to live and work.
This is a huge milestone for the town and powercloud. We're building a piece of the town's history.
What we're building here in Achern is already a town within the town.
Baufeld 1
A permanently installed construction camera captured building plot 1 throughout the entire build – from the open site to the finished building. Construction began with plot 1; it started a little earlier than plot 2.
Three convictions that carry everything.
Sustainability as the foundation
KfW40 standard, CO₂-neutral operation and its own solar power – ecology was a prerequisite, not an afterthought.
Community in everyday life
Living, working and services in one place create encounters – short distances instead of anonymous quarters.
City centre & nature
Right by the city park and within walking distance of Achern's centre – urban proximity and greenery at once.
Baufeld 2
A second construction camera shows building plot 2 from a different perspective – built in parallel, with a slight time offset to the first. The two time-lapses therefore don't run one after another, but show two viewpoints of the same construction period.