Apleona Wolfferts Gebäudetechnik has a good reputation in large-scale plant construction for challenging real estate projects. Another best-practice example is the Senckenberg Tower.

As always with large-scale inner-city projects, the construction process was a major logistical challenge and only feasible with good planning (this time via an online platform) and just-in-time delivery of materials, explains project manager Doris Ziemann in an interview with Apleona Insights. In particular, the coordination of the equipment installation in the roof center at a height of 106m between the already installed steel girders was a real challenge under "storm conditions". The graduate engineer (FH) is responsible for the Senckenberg project from the detailed planning to the purchasing phase to the actual installation, various functional tests as well as acceptances and last but not least the handover to the customer. She is assisted by site manager Michael Kruczkowski and a team of 15 fitters on average.

Ms Ziemann, who has already completed over 30 such projects throughout Germany in her professional career to date, including ten major projects for Apleona Wolfferts, knows that it is precisely the mutual understanding and close coordination between project and site management that is crucial to project success. She is a specialist in the ventilation technology trade and this is exactly what her current project in Frankfurt is all about. Within a construction period of 18 months, her team is installing sophisticated smoke protection pressure systems (RDA) together with pressure lines, cabling and control technology in the over 100 m high building by the beginning of December. In addition, there are ventilation systems for the 25 office floors, smoke extraction systems for the underground car park and basement as well as roof ventilators for the exhaust air from the waste room and kitchen.

The most challenging trade is the RDA system, as Doris Ziemann says, for her "the heart of building technology in all large real estate projects", because here it is about nothing less than the protection of human life. "I am glad that at Apleona Wolfferts no compromises are ever made when it comes to smoke and fire protection, but that 100 percent safe and defect-free solutions are always implemented," the engineer emphasizes the company's high ethical responsibility. In this respect, no discussions are held with the respective building owners, in the case of the Senckenberg Tower the project development division of BNP Paribas Real Estate, which also behaves in an exemplary manner in this respect and, despite the pressure of deadlines, does not want to save on either the technology or the elaborate function tests.

For Apleona Wolfferts Managing Director Horst Kever, the Senckenberg Tower is another outstanding reference for the technical competence and project experience of his building services specialists: "Ms Ziemann, who as a seasoned engineer and project manager has been managing major projects with a great deal of empathy for many years, stands like many of her colleagues for a corporate culture at Apleona Wolfferts that combines know-how, adherence to deadlines and integrity in safety-related matters to create a unique selling point for our customers."

Tower as landmark of the new Senckenberg site

The Senckenberg Tower is part of the quarter development of the cultural campus around the city-famous Senckenbergareal. In addition to the Senckenberg Tower, the residential tower "140 West", which will contain around 94 luxury condominiums and a hotel, and the six-story office building "21 West" are being built, as well as Frankfurt's largest daycare center. After completion, up to 2,500 people are expected to live and work in the modern urban quarter.

99 West" (the Senkenberg Tower) comprises around 27,000 square meters of rental space. The first lease has already been signed: BNP Paribas S.A. is moving into the first thirteen floors with its German headquarters. This means that around 60 percent of the tower has already been pre-let. A gastronomic offer is planned for the ground floor. Completion of the new building, which is a good 106 metres high, has 27 floors and BREEAM certification and is scheduled for the end of 2021.