A monumental building on one of the city's representative main avenues, with forms typical of the late Wilhelminian era in Germany. Early baroque and mannerist motifs are mixed with classicist and modernist ones. A distinctive feature of the building is the rich and varied texture of the stone facing, creating interesting chiaroscuro effects.

The wide Augustaanlage avenue became one of the main urban axes of modern Mannheim in the early 20th century. In 1907, a great exhibition was held there to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the city (Kunst- und Gartenbauausstellung) and from then on, magnificent bank and insurance company headquarters as well as elegant tenement houses were built there. In 1911, a 5-storey rental building in red sandstone was erected at plot no. 22, an interesting example of post-Secession modernism, which already foreshadowed Art Deco (designed by Rudolf R. Armbruster). In the neighbouring plot no. 24, construction of a building of similar dimensions but in a different style began a year later. Its investor was the Nahrungsmittel -Industrie- Berufsgenossenschaft (Nahrungsmittel-Industrie- Berufsgenossenschaft), founded in Hamburg in 1885, which turned to two architects active in Mannheim: Hugo Detert and the Pole Adam Ballenstedt. They won a competition announced in Hamburg in 1912. The building remained in their possession until 1968. For the architect from Wielkopolska, this was his first major project after his studies in Berlin. His real participation in the team, however, is not recognised. In 1913 Ballenstedt still designed for Mannheim the expansion of the Neu-Ostheim housing colony in the western suburbs, referring to the idea of a garden city. His career was then to develop after 1918 mainly in Poznan, where, among other things, his masterpiece, the building of the Higher School of Commerce (Academy of Economics), was constructed. The building at the Augustaanlage was damaged in the roof section during the Second World War. The decorative brass elements were painted over. After 1970, it became the property of the Baden-Württemberg state administration and was used together with a neighbouring building to house the education authority, the environmental protection offices and the Central Teaching Library. In 2007, both buildings were purchased by Plan Plus Faktor Entwicklungsgesellschaft from Frankfurt and restored and partly adapted. In the interiors, the original decorative elements of the doors, hall and staircase, including ceramic motifs from the Karlsruhe factory, have been preserved.