HOERBIGER is a global player which stands for high performance components for compressors, industrial motors and turbines, car engines and in a wide range of applications in mechanical and plant engineering. In Seestadt Aspern, a new central group headquarters was created for the HOERBIGER Ventilwerke GmbH & CoKG and the HOERBIGER Kompressortechnik Holding GmbH which are situated at different locations in Vienna.
With an investment volume of 45 million Euro, the Swiss company with Austrian roots decided to build a now innovation centre in Seestadt Aspern. The new group location now combines research, sales and production.
The consultancy M.O.O.CON was responsible for the conceptional planning of the campus building complex. The design was by the firm querkraft architekten, represented by Project Manager Dipl.-Ing. Guillermo Alvarez. The objective was defined as the greatest possible fusion of administration and production, with the option of further expansion, in which the overall project is a complete unit at any stage.
In the period from autumn 2014 to spring 2016, a new, central complex was constructed in Vienna. Divided into a 12,100 m² production area and an 11,600 m² administration area as well as a conference centre, the complex is designed to promote a spirit of research and innovation in the company.
In this project KAEFER demonstrated its expertise in interior construction work. Measures in the fields of acoustics, fire protection and sound insulation, as well as convention drywalling were implemented by the highly qualified KAEFER team. On average, 25 employees as well as three trainees were occupied with this from April 2015 until February 2016. "Cooperation with the project manager of GRANIT, DI (FH), Alexander Großegger, was excellent. Our specialist expertise was actively utilised in the planning phase for the interior construction work. This was an important point, which was ultimately reflected in the punctual handover to our client GRANIT", summarises the KAEFER project management team Karl Kneißl and Hannes Kratzer.
Due to the use of various machines, the sound insulation requirements are very demanding. Acoustic measures on the walls and ceilings were necessary to reduce noise to an acceptable level. Sound absorbing boards were mounted at a height of 10 meters below the entire roof of the hall and on some of the walls. According to the HOERBIGER CI, the architects designed a colour scheme in shades of blue and white.
For the employees, there are various free-standing social cabins with an area of approx. 150m² in the production halls, which also contain the sanitary facilities. The steel construction not only has a fire protection cladding; for acoustic reasons additional facing panels were installed and lined with GK perforated boards.
In order to have enough space for the administration staff, the offices are located in the administrative tract as well as in the research and development building. In the offices, KAEFER was responsible for the installation of the sanitary cells, the GK partition walls (approx. 6,000 m²), various suspended ceiling solutions in metal and GK (approx. 1,000 m²) approx. 5,000 m² double floors as well as for the acoustic solutions for the rooms.
As this is a reinforced concrete construction and accents were set with visible concrete for all constructional and load bearing concrete components, an activated concrete core heating and cooling ceiling creates a good atmosphere in the offices. The acoustic measures presented a great challenge: 3,000 baffles were mounted vertically with an average suspension heigh of 12 cm below the concrete ceiling. Due to the hole depth of approx. 45 mm, special suspensions from Knauf AMF were used. Installation of the baffles was carried out according to a ceiling layout plan, as the HOERBIGER CI colour scheme is also used in this area. "This was a tricky job for our specialists, as the holes had to be drilled so that there were no leaks in the water-bearing concrete ceiling", explains Karl Kneißl.
In addition, an approx. 500 m² acoustic cooling ceiling was installed in the foyer as a GK perforated ceiling. To improve the acoustics in the laboratory area, the KAEFER team mounted approximately 2,000 m² of additional absorber panels on the ceiling and walls.
The conference centre is a cantilevered, free-floating steel construction which places very high demands on fire protection. This building shell had to be protected from fire on all four sides as well as towards the exterior wall. KAEFER also has excellent specialist expertise in the field of fire protection and installed a total of approx. 500 m² of steel beam casings and about 450 metres of tube casings to provide the required fire protection.
AMF BAFFEL is the solution if there is too little acoustic absorption area. The baffle solution extends the acoustically active area in the room beyond the area of the ceiling and walls and enables a variety of methods to insulate noise and improve the acoustics of the room. The closed frames in combination with the various AMF surface decorations combine function with aesthetics. Optional, unobtrusive, almost invisible stainless steel rope suspenders give an impression of weightlessness and elegance.
The baffle system enables vertical absorption surfaces to be mounted at any point on the ceiling. Variation of the row spacing enables multiplication of the acoustically effective area in order to reduce flutter echoes and reflections.
"In this project, 3,000 acoustic baffles with a size of 1200 mm x 450 mm and a weight of approx. 6 kg per baffle were installed in the office area", explains Erich Tausendschön. Due to activation of the concrete core as a heating or cooling area, only a very limited area was available for acoustic purposes. Baffles were therefore the best option in order to achieve an acceptable reverberation time. Heradesign basic baffles from Knauf AMF were used. These are acoustic baffles which consist of two 15 millimetre thick cover layers made from magnesite-bonded wood wool and which are suspended from the ceiling with an anodised aluminium profile. The baffles make rooms quieter by converting most of the sound energy into heat by friction and reflecting a small proportion. At the same time, they score with their sustainability. The cover layers are namely made of the building-biologically harmless materials wood, magnesite and water and can be recycled. Because of this, the baffles bear the Blue Angel seal of approval - the world's oldest (1978) environmental seal. They also bear the seal of the non-profit NGO Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) which gives architects confidence that the acoustic boards have nothing to do with illegal logging and destructive forestry.
In retrospect the KAEFER team praises the harmonious cooperation with the HOERBIGER project manager on site, Dr. Martin Langer as well as the sales manager from Knauf AMF ceiling systems, Erich Tausendschön: "Such a constructive discussion culture as in this project unfortunately cannot always be taken for granted. Here, it made a decisive contribution to the success of our work."