Façade of “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7” in Mannheim viewed from the street

Vital artery in the multifunctional building complex of the future

Equipping architectural flagship projects is an honour and a challenge for all companies involved. Even if – like KSB – you have achieved important milestones in countless infrastructure projects in the past, this doesn’t usually come to the attention of the public. In the case of the “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7” multifunctional building complex in Mannheim, however, there was no doubt that everyone would be watching to see whether all of the systems would be working reliably in the city’s new multifunctional complex.

The project: Building services systems for “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7”

The construction of “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7”, which opened in 2016, promised great things: Attractive retail, gastronomic and office spaces, the 4-star superior hotel Radisson Blu, high-end city apartments and a three-storey underground car park were created over a gross floor area of 153,000 m². The multifunctional complex was designed as an architectural eye-catcher in the city of Mannheim, pointing the way to the future and serving as a visitor magnet for the surrounding region.

But behind the modern façade and the well thought-out structuring of the extensive interior space used in a multitude of ways is the invisible equipment that is essential for making living and working in the building possible. Building services equipment for heating, air conditioning, water supply, drainage and fire-fighting water supply plays a key role – all disciplines in which KSB excels.

The customer: DIRINGER & SCHEIDEL (D&S) and “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7 Mannheim"

Founded as a construction company in 1921, the owner-managed DIRINGER & SCHEIDEL group of companies with headquarters in Mannheim employs a total of 3,600 staff. In all branches of the construction industry, D&S is a recognised partner of businesses, local authorities and industry. As the project developer, client and operator, D&S implemented “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7” from 2015 onwards via its specially founded company, CRM - Center & Retail Management GmbH. At over € 300 million, it was D&S’s biggest ever project at the time.

Multiple Etanorm pumps with PumpDrive2, pipes, supports in the heating plant room — Etanorm pumps with PumpDrive2 in the heating plant room

The challenge: Wide variety of products from a single supplier

There was no question about the importance of “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7” for Mannheim and the region. All parties involved had to work hand in hand to ensure that operations could run smoothly on the day of opening. A long test run like the ones carried out with many other projects was not possible here. In addition, due to its central location in the city, there was only a tiny window of time during the tightly scheduled construction process for the delivery and installation of the pumps and valves. This schedule had to be kept to exactly. Furthermore, the project developer, client and operator, DIRINGER & SCHEIDEL, only wanted to engage a single supplier for all the different trades in “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7”; the supplier therefore had to be capable of handling this contract volume alone in the required scope and range of disciplines without problems.

The solution: Complete portfolio of building services equipment

KSB was able to present a complete portfolio of building services products on request. The company also provides a comprehensive service for all applications involving valves and pumps that is available 24/7, 365 days a year.

While KSB’s strength in many other projects is its ability to adapt its products to the customer’s individual technical requirements, in the case of the “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7” multifunctional complex the company was able to shine in another of its key areas: All required pumps and valves were selected from KSB’s extensive standard range and manufactured within a very short time and delivered within the specified time window. A single contact person at KSB handled the coordination with the various engineering contractors.

The responsibility placed on the equipment supplied by KSB is immense. All the equipment for heating, water, waste water and cooling for shops, offices, apartments and the hotel is housed in a single plant room, serving individual users as required. The level of demand fluctuates greatly throughout the day. The pumps in particular must react to the drastic consumption peaks extremely flexibly. If there was a problem, it would affect the entire building complex. Above all, the air conditioning and ventilation of the shopping area, which is frequented by thousands of visitors daily, must function perfectly.

Hand with iPhone, KSB FlowManager on the display for controlling PumpDrive2, Etanorm pumps with PumpDrive2 in the background — KSB FlowManager: Access to all important PumpDrive2 parameters

Especially with regard to the pump’s output which must be continuously matched to fluctuating demand, KSB was able to draw on solutions that had been proven in many comparable projects: The motor-mounted PumpDrive2 frequency inverters are able to match the pumps’ output exactly to the requirements of every situation. Positive side effect: Clearly measurable energy savings of up to 60% and reduced life cycle costs.

The scope of supply of pumps and valves was also considerable: A total of 14 Etaline pumps and 13 Etanorm pumps – each fitted with PumpDrive2 – are responsible for reliably supplying heating, fresh air and cooling. They are supported by 31 Calio pumps. In the area of drainage, 13 Compacta sewage lifting units and 8 Ama-Drainer submersible pumps each with an Ama-Drainer-Box are used. Pressure boosting for drinking water is achieved by 4 Hyamat SVP pressure booster systems. In the event of a fire, the wall hydrants of the fire-fighting system are reliably supplied with fire-fighting water by a Hya-Duo D FL pressure booster system. Safe shut-off and throttling of all flows is ensured by over 400 butterfly valves, globe valves and a range of other valves from the BOA type series.

Commissioning was exclusively handled by the regional KSB customer service. A wide variety of KSB products are used in the “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7” building complex and this combination has proven to be a resounding success.

PumpDrive2 is manually configured on the control panel — PumpDrive2 can also be configured directly on the device.

Figures I Data I Facts

System: Multifunctional building complex

End user: DIRINGER & SCHEIDEL and “Das Quartier Q 6 Q 7 Mannheim"

Project data: