History of the BBR

The Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR) was established in 1998 by merging two independent subordinate authorities attached to the federal building ministry: the Federal Building Office and the Federal Research Institute for Regional Geography and Regional Planning . In 2004, the number of employees grew substantially yet again to 1.200 when both building departments of Berlin’s Regional Finance Office were integrated into the BBR.

The history of the federal building administration dates back to 1770 when Friedrich II. institutionalized the building administration in Prussia by founding the “Oberbaudepartement” (central building authority of Prussia). This marks the first time that uniform technical and design principles for state buildings and standards for the training of civil servants in the building sector were created. Famous builders such as David Gilly and Karl Friedrich Schinkel led the building authority and the affiliated “Bauakademie” (tasked with the training of architects) in the 18th and 19th century. After the proclamation of the German Empire in 1871, the Prussian building authority became in charge of all state buildings in the entire empire. However, the building administration did not undergo fundamental reformation until the time of the Weimar Republic. In 1930, the “Reichsbaudirektion” (predecessor of the Federal Building Office) was established. This time also marks the establishment of the building departments of the Regional Finance Office. During the time of the Nazi dictatorship, the “Reichsbaudirektion” was misused under Albert Speer as an instrument for the plan of transforming Berlin into the “World Capital Berlin”. Liquidated in 1945, it was re-founded under Federal Chancellor Adenauer in 1950 as the Federal Building Office in order to convert Bonn into the temporary seat of government. Since then it has been its task by law to supervise the construction of federal buildings in Bonn, Berlin and abroad. After merging with the building departments of Berlin’s Regional Finance Office in 2004 its range of duties expanded to include building measures for lower federal authorities as well as federal research institutions.

The Federal Research Institute for Regional Geography and Regional Planning emerged in 1973 as the successor of the Institute for Regional Planning and the Institute for Regional Research . Its predecessors were founded in 1935 (“Reichsstelle für Raumforschung”) and 1940 (“Abteilung für Landeskunde”) as instruments of the national socialist “blood and soil” and “people without space” policies. After their liquidation in 1945, both institutions were re-founded in the late 1940s, conducted socio-cultural surveys for the Allied Forces and served the young Federal Republic to guide refugee integration. In the 1970s, the geographical approach was largely given up to be replaced by a social-science based regional planning. Hence, regional planning became an important instrument of the welfare state in its striving to provide equal standards of living for all. An endeavour that reached new dimensions after the reunification of Germany and which poses a great challenge in the context of the European integration.

Both pillars, building and space, form the core of today’s federal building administration, which is responsible for competitions and the practical implementation of federal building projects in Bonn, Berlin and abroad. Furthermore, it serves the Federal Government by advising in the fields of regional planning, urban planning, housing and building as well as basic issues of the building sector.