A brief geographical and historical background. The city of Basel (Switzerland) is the capital of the canton of the same name (Basel), the total area of which is 37 sq. km. The population of the city is 170 thousand residents.
This is the second largest city in Switzerland after Zurich.
It is located in a valley between the peaks of the Jura and the Black Forest near the ancient crossing over the Rhine — in a place where three countries border: Switzerland, France and Germany. Here the past and the present, history and modernity, charm and Swiss efficiency are united. The city accumulates and preserves all the best that has been created over the centuries, making adjustments dictated by progress. Such continuity of generations cannot but captivate and make you completely trust everything that surrounds you. Basel today is a large commercial and industrial center.
Fairs and congresses are held here, active scientific and commercial activities are carried out, and it is difficult to imagine that such a reputation can be questioned. After all the above, there is no longer a question why the headquarters of the SAUTER company is located here in the very center of Europe.
Our delegation was kindly invited by the company's management (represented by Martin Bismarck, General Manager of Sauter Building Control International) to a tour of the production facility, and also visited one of the most interesting sites in the city, which is a kind of its symbol. How significant this project is is already indicated by the fact that the building is not only the tallest in Switzerland, but also the most high-tech in execution.
The object stands out for its quality and level of architecture and planning, as well as its harmonious integration into the surrounding architecture of the old city.
We are talking about the multifunctional complex Messeturm Basel, located on the Fairgrounds — a venue for various exhibition events not only at the city or state level, but also at the international level.
The construction of the tower was carried out from July 2001 to October 2003. In the relatively short time frame allotted for the implementation of a project of this level, a concept was developed and priorities were set, which later became fundamental: energy efficiency and flexibility in the management of all systems.
General information on Messeturm Basel:
Architects: Morger, Degelo, Marques
Height: 105 meters
Number of floors: 31 floors
Facade: 14,000 sq.m. (material — glass)
Location of facilities: Ramada 4* hotel;
Basel Trade Fair; service center and 9,000
sq.m. of office space.
Data on the automation and control system (about 19,000 data points):
— 7000 (HVAC units),
— 11000 (room automation),
— 1000 (energy meters).
Automation level:
— 150 HVAC automation stations (Sauter),
— 250 room automation units,
— 40 touch panels for room control,
— 400 energy meters.
Management level:
— 2 servers for collecting process data/WEB server,
— 1 server for collecting data from energy meters,
— 4 operator workstations,
— remote notification and remote control (including emergency calls).
During the project implementation, the following were presented and applied:
— high technical requirements,
— autonomously functioning subsystems with unambiguous separation of interfaces,
— integration of several sections/parts of systems,
— high flexibility when changing users,
— user-focused,
— the highest demands on project management staff and personnel.
If we consider the facility floor by floor, the lower floors of the building contain the exhibition and service areas of the complex, then there are office areas, and the upper floors are occupied by a hotel (the modern Ramada PLAZA hotel).
Start of the tour
In the foyer of the building we were met by a friendly employee of the Operations Service of the company «Messe Schweiz Facility Management», who kindly agreed to show us around the tower and tell us about the work of its engineering systems. The first shock for us was that, as it turned out, this person is the entire Operations Service of the 105-meter tower. That's right:
the only one. The operation of all engineering and IT systems of the building is subordinated to and controlled by just one person.
Moreover, he does not always have to be present in the control room — alarm messages about failures or malfunctions in operation (if any) are duplicated in the form of SMS messages to a mobile phone, and in the event of more serious accidents, the data is also transmitted to the relevant city services.
Hotel
The tour began with a part of the building allocated for a 4* hotel, including 230 rooms. All the doors of the rooms of the Ramada PLAZA hotel, in order to ensure a high level of security and comfort, are equipped with an electronic system, the operation of which is based on the use of individual plastic guest cards.
As for engineering, the hotel management system (HMS) operates independently from the building management system (BAS). Using a luxury room as an example, we were shown the organization of the engineering systems in the hotel part of the building.
The building uses a mechanical supply and exhaust ventilation system. The tower facade is glass (double glazing).
The space between the glazing is filled with warm exhaust air, removed directly from the rooms through exhaust openings in the glazing. The layer of warm air between the panes serves as additional insulation against heat loss through the external enclosures, which, as it turns out, significantly affects the reduction of operating costs.
The inflow of fresh air into the rooms is organized in the lower zone, through the false floor (the supply grille is usually hidden from view and is located under the bed).
In the warm season, cooled ceilings with built-in pipe coils through which cold water is directed are used to reduce the temperature in the rooms. The room also has a fan coil with a control element built into the wall: the tenant can independently regulate the fan speed and air temperature, selecting individual microclimate parameters.
The building does not have a traditional water heating system with radiators.
All communications, including IT systems, are hidden in the raised floor and are not visible to outsiders.
Technical floor
The building has two technical floors. We visited one of them, which houses the engineering systems of the upper part of the building.
Most of the technical floor is occupied by the air conditioning equipment from AXIMA. The fans of the supply and exhaust units are equipped with frequency converters from Danfoss (according to the technical expert, this solution significantly reduced energy consumption). A spare belt is attached next to each fan in case of a breakdown. The maintenance service employee explained that replacing the belt is his responsibility and in case of a breakdown he will not have to look for the belt, he will be able to replace it on the spot in a short period of time. The air filters in the supply units are equipped with pressure sensors, with the help of which one can judge the degree of contamination of the filter. The filter replacement signal is also sent to the unified building management system.
Maintenance work is carried out directly during working hours: the total load is temporarily redistributed between the remaining devices and does not cause failures in the overall operation of the system.
The building operation service faced only one problem, which was related to incorrect calculation of air parameters in the tower premises; humidity was not taken into account during design. As a result, several years after the building was put into operation, it became necessary to install an additional air humidifier and subsequently adjust its operation. However, the occurrence of this problem and its subsequent solution did not present any difficulties. The availability of the necessary equipment and qualified employees allowed us to eliminate the initial miscalculation in the shortest possible time.
I would also like to note that all installations on the technical floor of the tower without exception are equipped with heat and water meters. Data from the meters is collected via the M-bus and integrated into the Sauter NovaPro control system. In addition to Mbus, the building has a Modbus protocol, which is mainly used in the office part of the building. The upper level of the building automation system uses the Ethernet TCP/IP protocol.
Control room
After reviewing the technical components of the building, we were invited to the main control center of the building – the control room. It should be immediately noted: the right of access to all technical facilities without exception, and especially to visit the control and management zone of the facility, is only available to one employee – the manager of the Operations Service.
This is related to both general and technological security. Access to some objects (floors) is possible using an individual elevator or a double lock system, the right to use which belongs to only one person.
The control room is located in a small room on one of the technical floors. The room contains: two computers, several printers (each of them outputs parameters determined by the task) and a cabinet with servers and network equipment.
On the main computer screen, an employee of “Messe Schweiz Facility Management” demonstrated how the main engineering systems of the building operate, and also clearly explained the procedure for processing possible alarm messages. The general scheme of work is as follows: all incoming data and trends are archived so that the progress of the systems can be viewed at any time. If more serious errors occur, which the system is unable to correct independently (by testing the equipment, etc.), messages are displayed to the operator on the printer, computer screen and mobile phone in the form of SMS messages.
At night, the tower maintenance is organized as follows: the night maintenance service is outsourced (certain maintenance functions are transferred to a third-party company, whose specialist, in the event of an alarm message, goes to the site). If he cannot fix the malfunction on his own, the city technical service is called. Contracts have been concluded with all services, without exception, participating in the maintenance of the facility.
In general, the atmosphere that reigned in the control room suggested that the building maintenance service does not often encounter problems in the tower's engineering systems — its work seemed too calm and measured, even routine in places.
Heating station and refrigeration station
The last part of our excursion was a visit to the energy center of the building — a heating station and a refrigeration station. To obtain the main thermal energy, the tower is standardly connected to the city networks, but in parallel, to meet a certain volume of the building's needs for cold or heat, groundwater coming from a depth of 30 meters is used.
The refrigeration center is equipped with TRANE chillers. Two large AXIMA boilers are responsible for storing hot water for hotel guests. The tower's heating station uses the most modern heat exchangers and pumps. In the event of an unauthorized power outage, uninterrupted operation will be ensured by the installed generators, and one of them (there are 3 mechanisms of varying capacity installed) acts as a backup, since the 2 main ones fully satisfy the needs of the facility.
It should be noted that all technical rooms of the tower are kept in perfect cleanliness and order. The presence of a large number of marks on pipelines, meters and other technical elements; marking of mechanisms; as well as the presence of mini instructions in the rooms contribute to clear and coordinated work. The facility functions with the famous precision of Swiss watches.
In conclusion
The project of the fair tower in Basel was unique from the very beginning: from the time frame of its implementation to the level of requirements (starting with technological features and ending with the human resources involved).
«Sauter Building Control Schweiz AG» together with «Selmoni Ingenieur AG» accepted the challenge and emerged victorious.
The project managers agree that close cooperation between all project participants from the very first day is perhaps one of the most important moments in the work.
Technically, much is possible, but to perform the task well, a team of professionals is needed who are capable of solving it.
It is possible to conquer not only mountain peaks, which the Swiss Alps are rich in, but also the heights of man-made creations, which is clearly demonstrated by the company SAUTER, having brought this project to life. The tower is a clear proof to customers that it is possible to combine the individuality of the solution and the optimal cost of the project. |
