Transsolar

The former Transsolar PR team, Monika Lauster and Bertram von Negelein, are bidding farewell as they enter their well‑deserved retirement.

After 34 years, Monika Lauster is leaving Transsolar as a colleague who has shaped the company from its very beginnings. Through clear communication and strong values she has played a decisive role in forming Transsolar’s attitude and culture.

Bertram joined Transsolar in 2006, initially working in IT, before taking on his later role as the man of precise words and becoming an important part of Transsolar’s communication work. With his exact language and deep technical understanding, he made the complex content of Transsolar’s projects accessible.

With Moni’s support, the Transsolar World Academy became possible. She shaped publications and exhibitions, made the content of more than 500 projects visible on the website, had a keen sense for illustrations as well as for our strategic decisions and partnerships – and much more. Above all, Moni has been a trusted confidant to colleagues from all areas for decades. She listened, mediated, brought people together, and in doing so made a lasting impact.

Alongside his work, many colleagues valued Bertram for his helpfulness, including the German courses he offered to international staff with humor and great commitment, thereby fostering both professional and personal exchange within the team.

We thank you both for your work – you will be missed.

Focused Services | Funded research

We provide detailed engineering analysis, test measurements, surveys, and more for funded research projects in our areas of expertise.

Focused Services | Post-occupancy evaluations

Post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) evaluate how well a project is performing once it is occupied, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and identify potential improvements. This helps owners maximize the value they are getting from their investment. Are occupants comfortable and satisfied? Is the building meeting their needs? Are systems operating as intended, and using the amount of energy expected? What might be improved? We use a combination of long-term measurement, on-site measurements, surveys, and focused interviews to answer these questions.

Focused Services | Outdoor air quality consultant

We advise on the impact of buildings and developments on local outdoor air quality. Pollutant dispersion studies are critical for ensuring laboratory exhaust leaves a building without creating a hazard in surrounding areas. We can evaluate the impacts of emergency generators, local traffic sources, and similar point sources on air quality in a neighborhood.

Focused Services | Troubleshooting

We support proiects in implementing new or unconventional concepts, including façade designs, mechanical systems, and daylight concepts. If a system isn’t operating as expected, does the installation meet the required physical or performance specifications? Are the controls operating correctly, or do they need to be adjusted? Our know-how, on-site measurements, and focus on deep understanding are the foundation of the troubleshooting process.

Focused Services | Embodied carbon vs. operational carbon consultant

We study the sum of operational carbon emissions (mostly from energy consumption) and embodied carbon emissions (mostly from manufacturing of materials). This creates a full understanding of the trade-off between the two, for example in amount and type of insulation or thermal mass.

Focused Services | Natural ventilation consultant

We help project teams develop a functional, engineered natural ventilation strategy: define airflow paths, required opening sizes, chimney or assist fan sizes, and controls.

Focused Services | Outdoor comfort consultant

We develop and analyze concepts specifically for outdoor comfort in plazas, parks, streetscapes, campuses, and neighborhoods. We have the unique capability to characterize the temperatures and comfort expected over the course of the year. When appropriate, we analyze outdoor airflow patterns and their impact on comfort using computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

Focused Services | Advanced daylight consultant

We develop concepts and analyze daylight and visual comfort for spaces that challenge traditional disciplines: atriums, highly glazed spaces with strict visual criteria, art museums and galleries, and similar spaces. We also develop and study daylight redirection concepts. We characterize the lighting conditions and visual comfort expected over the course of the year.

Focused Services | Advanced mechanical systems consultant

We develop advanced mechanical system concepts and analyze their energy and comfort performance. This includes both zone-level concepts such as radiant cooling, silent ‘gravity walls’, radiant water walls, and more, and thermal plants including heat pump chillers, geothermal, daily or seasonal thermal storage, and more. Zone-level analysis often focuses on showing feasibility of the system concept, whereas plant-level analysis focuses on system selection and right-sizing for the best economic and carbon performance.