New life for the old Hill warehouse - getting to know the system construction
Something new is growing up in the old warehouse on the B-side of Münster harbour: the characteristic historic brick exterior walls preserve the history of the traditional building with its striking double gable. Inside, however, the Hill-Speicher is being given a future-proof face. In October 2023, the Münster Rowing Club 1882 (RVM) and its 500 members will move into a new home with a boat hall and jetty. On the upper floor, a socio-cultural neighbourhood centre with event and meeting rooms and plenty of space for creative people will be built on 2500 square metres. The open association B-Side Kultur e.V. is developing and organising the non-profit project modules. The roof is also being renovated.
Driving a paradigm shift with sample walls
When it comes to sustainable construction, there is no way around serial prefabrication and modular solutions - even for refurbishment projects such as the Hill-Speicher. The larger the property, the more the advantages of modular construction pay off in the planning and construction phases. However, the paradigm shift in practice is still being met with a lack of experience with industrially prefabricated installation walls. It is up to architects to open up to the new construction method and up to engineers and planners to promote the rethinking of ‘assemblies instead of individual parts’.
As a system provider that has already equipped more than 100,000 bathrooms with TECEsystem since the 1990s, TECE is therefore also committed to breaking down inhibitions and facilitating practical experience. As the company is already represented with TECEprofil and flush plates in all the sanitary rooms of the Hill Speicher, the company also offered to provide some sample walls from the TECEsystem range.
Even if the installation of industrially prefabricated installation walls is normally only worthwhile from a certain size of sanitary room. These sample walls were used on the ground floor.
Challenging project
‘It's not an everyday construction project,’ says site manager Patrick Sutor from the engineering office Nordhorn in Münster about the renovation of the Hill Speicher. ‘A renovation is always exciting. You can't plan everything in advance, you have to find solutions at short notice.’ Architect Uwe Schall from Böll Architekten in Essen expressed a similar view. ‘It's a challenging project, renovations are always a challenge to harmonise old and new. There is always something new.’
TECEsystem is the recommended solution
Sutor is no newcomer to system construction. ‘I have generally had good experiences with TECEsystem if the right installation conditions are in place. The time factor is a big advantage, as is the simplicity of the technology.’ Schall was using TECEsystem for the first time. ‘I haven't used it yet,’ says Schall. ‘In principle, I would recommend it: the integrated pre-wall installation is good, everything arrives on the construction site in one package, and installation only involves setting up and aligning the individual installation walls. In the case of the Hill storage tank, the particular challenge was to carry out the installation on steel girders that were only partially available, as these had to be drilled through.
Specialist tradesman Edgar Zieschang from the executing company Bolte summarises: ‘The industrially prefabricated installation walls look neat. The dimensions fit, it's quick. It's a nice, clean installation. We will consider using it more often in the future.’
Fotos: Matthias Ibeler, Böll Architekten