Professor Hans Hertlein, a German architect and university professor, head of construction at Siemens, designed the Kiel Pain Clinic building between 1937 and 1938. Professor Hertlein was, among other things, an honorary member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin and was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1957. One of the defining architectural features of Professor Hans Hertlein's work is a projecting stairwell tower equipped with a large clock mechanism. Similar features can be found in the Wernerwerk high-rise he designed in Berlin's Siemensstadt district, as well as in the so-called "Raspberry Palace," an office building of Siemens AG in Erlangen. The Kiel Pain Clinic building also features two clocks in its western stairwell tower. Just in time for the switch from summer to winter time, these clocks were equipped for the first time with a receiver for the signals from the DCF77 time signal transmitter. This transmitter provides most radio-controlled clocks in much of Europe with the legally recognized standard time. The designation DCF77 is derived from D for Germany, C for long-wave transmitter, F for proximity to Frankfurt, and the number 77 for the carrier frequency of 77.5 kHz. The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) transmits the date and time data signal via DCF77. The transmitter's control unit is synchronized with the primary atomic clocks of the PTB in Braunschweig. The time signal has an accuracy with a relative standard deviation of no more than 10⁻¹², corresponding to an error of 1 second in 30,000 years. The clocks on the tower of the listed building of the Kiel Pain Clinic now display the most accurate time possible.