SUSTAINABLE POOL RENOVATION

Author: www.agrob-buchtal.de

Photos:  www.agrob-buchtal.de, Marcus Rebmann

Construction Minister Klara Geywitz has launched a funding programme for the renovation of municipal facilities in the areas of sports, youth and culture, which focuses on the preservation of our outdoor pools with the largest share of the funding in the area of swimming pools. Simple and time-saving renovation options would now be beneficial. The ceramics manufacturer and swimming pool expert AGROB BUCHTAL brings the solution: A prefabricated ceramic pool head with a carbon concrete core is to ensure sustainable and timesaving construction processes for the renovation of ageing swimming pools. How does it work? Quite simple.

Regardless of the manufacturer or type: In order to be able to install the prefabricated pool head parts, which are usually 2.5 m long, the old pool heads are first sawn out of the pool edge. This produces precise horizontal and vertical cut edges onto which the new and prefabricated pool head is simply placed after sealing has been completed. Existing gutter drains were measured in advance for the specific project and taken into account during production. Any differences in the colour of tiles and joints are hardly noticeable below the water level. Conclusion for the connection work: Pool head and pool remain one unit.

Under controlled and quality-monitored workshop conditions, prefabrication of the pool heads enables energyand resource-efficient production processes and minimised waste quantities. But the construction processes on site are also much simpler with the prefabricated parts, because complicated work steps and the involvement of many different trades are eliminated. In addition, the overall construction time is reduced, as forming, pouring and drying of the in-situ concrete are no longer necessary. As a result, the prefabricated ceramic pool head achieves a product quality that cannot be achieved on construction sites. And so that the climate balance is also right down to the last detail, AGROB BUCHTAL relies on short delivery routes and the production of reusable formwork. Simply convincing.

In cooperation with CARBOCON from Dresden, AGROB BUCHTAL developed the prefabricated ceramic pool head with a core made of carbon-reinforced concrete. Its space requirement is minimal, because carbon concrete allows the production of extremely filigree and yet highly load-bearing components. Less cement, sand and water provide a significantly improved climate balance. In contrast to conventional steel reinforcements, carbon fibres are resistant to aggressive media and therefore extremely robust and durable.

With the conversion and modernisation of the COE Bad in Coesfeld, Kernig Consulting GmbH, a company specialising in sports facilities, has brought the sauna and wellness area up to a new standard. By restructuring the bath, the visitor experience has been redefined.

In the course of the project, the Kernig Consulting team supervised all service phases of the HOAI from the basic evaluation, preliminary planning, draft planning, approval planning, implementation planning as well as the preparation and execution of the contract assignment.

Especially in the service phases of the basic evaluation and the preliminary planning, the user requirements as well as the operational processes were analysed in great detail within the scope of extensive consulting services with the results being incorporated into the final planning. The preliminary planning results were then further optimised, taking into account current trends in customer behaviour and projected customer expectations. The resulting construction costs and construction times also had to be taken into account in order to be able to carry out a sustainable and economically successful reorientation of this part of the COE Bad.

Furthermore, Kernig Consulting took over the supervision and management of the project. As part of the conversion measures, the relaxation areas were separated from the rather noisy shower areas. The whirlpool and the plunge pool were moved outside. The saunas and the steam bath were combined into a single area. In addition, a new shower house was built in the outdoor area to remedy a lack of shower capacity there. Both the exterior and the interior of the wellness area were redesigned with a comprehensive design concept. Kernig Consulting GmbH www.kernig-consulting.de

As a family business, we understand better than anyone that you want to build with familiar faces. We have both feet on the ground. Yet at the same time, we have towering ambition. Feel free to call and plan a visit to one of our construction sites.

Value engineering

As operator of Club Pellikaan – a Dutch health club chain – we make smart choices. Our decision-making is based on the experience of 1.5 million users per year. That makes us the ideal partner to get the most out of your project.

Wide-ranging and complete

You want to work with a single party that guides the project as efficiently as possible. That is why you can choose any possible combination of services from our specialisms. Whether it’s building only, design & build in a construction team, or a complete DBFMO project with long-term maintenance and operation.

Green built

Making sustainable choices at the start of the construction process can save you operating costs in the future. We strive to leave the world cleaner. Fair to our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Limitless opportunities

Building starts with a dream. By finding the right balance between ambition and reality, we translate ‘a good idea’ into world-class innovation.

A building must be future-proof, able to cater to the end users’ needs for years to come. With decades of international expertise in smart building, Pellikaan’s projects remain relevant for many years.

The programme to promote physical activity, “Berlin bewegt sich!”, launched in 2021, is aimed at all Berlin inhabitants. It is free of charge, is personally supervised, participation is possible without registration and it is easily accessible in terms of low-threshold exercise offers and inclusion. “Berlin bewegt sich!” is intended to give all people, including those who have little or no connection to physical activity, easy access to measures that promote physical activity.

In 2022, the state-wide programme entered the next round. Further training stations were opened in the districts of Hasenheide (Neukölln), Warnitzer Bogen (Lichtenberg) and Waldeckpark (Kreuzberg). KUULA Landschaftsarchitekten from Berlin, who were commissioned with the conception and planning of the new sports areas, enlisted PLAYPARC as a competent partner for the planning and realisation.

In the Volkspark Hasenheide, an approx. 1.6 km long “circuit” was defined in the park, with a variety of exercise options docked onto it. There are exercise opportunities for strength, endurance, motor skills, coordination and, of course, running training.

The Warnitzer Bogen was designed as a neighbourhood park and public green space with differentiated recreational qualities. Here, simple elements such as a bench, horizontal bar, hand-over-hand ladder, rings, complement the range of strength and endurance exercises, for example in the trend sport of calisthenics. In Waldeck Park, balancing ropes, a rope circus and simple robinia tree trunks have been distributed to selected locations along the surrounding path. An inclusive footbridge with alternating surfaces and slopes offers exercise opportunities especially for people with disabilities. PLAYPARC

Carl Stahl ARC is a specialist for safety nets in Architecture and Construction. In November 2022, the newly defined European Technical Assessment (ETA) for a stainless steel wire rope net was granted for the first time.

On the basis of a completely new European Assessment Document developed with EOTA and DIBT, ETA-22/0257 was granted for the X-TEND cable net as fall protection and safety mesh after extensive clarifications and test series. This lays the foundation across Europe for defined practical application possibilities, as well as the static calculability and regularly recurring external monitoring of the production processes and product quality. X-TEND thus is a convincing, tested quality product for the often sensitive areas of application as a permanently installed safety net, at and in sports facilities, schools and daycare centres – as well as in residential and office buildings, and as a facade greenery net or horizontal fall protection mesh.

The X-TEND mesh is a safety and design element at the same time. It is made of AISI316 stainless steel, is durable, robust and flexible, and used in two- and three-dimensional applications. X-TEND is available in various mesh widths and wire rope diameters. Its very low self-weight in relation to its load-bearing capacity enables filigree installations with large spans. Spectators and athletes enjoy an optimal view. Balls are silently kept by the net without permanent deformation or damage.

X-TEND is manufactured in own factories in Europe, as well as in the USA in accordance with the “Buy American” guidelines applicable there for certain projects.

Carl Stahl ARC GmbH www.carlstahl-architecture.com