Three shopping centers of ECE, European market leader, received today the highest DGNB award. At the International Commercial Property Exposition EXPO REAL, DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen / German Sustainable Building Council) awarded the Ernst-August-Galerie in Hanover as one of the first commercial properties ever with a Certificate in Gold for its exemplary sustainability concept. Moreover, the Rhein-Galerie Ludwigshafen as well as Forum Mittelrhein Koblenz, which are currently under construction or planned, received the Pre-Certificate in Gold.
"Sustainability and energy efficiency are of great importance to us and constitute essential quality features for real estate. I'm therefore very pleased that our work in this field is acknowledged and awarded by independent experts," says Alexander Otto, CEO of ECE.
The Ernst-August-Galerie in Hanover with a retail area of approx. 30,000 m² and 150 shops was opened in Hanover's city center in October of last year. The gallery is the first shopping center in which electrical mall air-conditioning is not required due to natural ventilation. Thus, 35 tons of CO2 can be saved per year. Also a 250-kilowatts photovoltaic system is installed on the roof for energy generation, which saves another 50 tons of CO2 every year. Further climate protection measures are, among others, energy-efficient illuminants of the latest generation as well as the usage of certified green electricity. The Ernst-August-Galerie thus achieves a degree of performance of 86.26% (Gold awarded as of 80%). The 230 million project was planned and realized by ECE and HGA Capital Grundbesitz und Anlage GmbH.
The construction of Forum Mittelrhein in Koblenz is about to be started. The shopping center consists of a retail area of 20,000 m² as well as a cultural building providing a media library, museum and tourist center. The Forum is not only characterized by urban integration but also by functional sustainability aspects. The three parking levels are oriented towards a central patio, which supports natural ventilation and considerably improves natural lighting. The intense greening of the patio results in an optimized microclimate. The building concept will be one of the first in Germany to meet and even exceed the requirements of both the Renewable Energies Heat Act (EEWärmeG) and the Energy Saving Regulation (EnEV) in the latest version (2009). In the scope of the DGNB certification the planning was and will be further optimized. Emphasis is placed on the one hand on the abandonment of critical construction materials, and on the other hand on consistent improvement of the life-cycle assessment. The project is realized by a Joint Venture with STRABAG Real Estate.
The Rhein-Galerie in Ludwigshafen, which celebrated its topping-out on 8th October, is created at the river Rhine on the premises of the former customs harbor. In terms of sustainability, the Rhein-Galerie scores in many ways: not only with its urban integration but, for example, also with its drinking and waste water concept. All rainwater is drained directly into the Rhine, and thus contributed to the natural water balance. Among the center's installations are very economical fittings that reduce the drinking water demand by more than 30%. Project partner and main investor of the Rhein-Galerie is Union Investment.
Pre-Certificate in Gold also for ThyssenKrupp
ECE develops solutions in order to reduce the primary energy demand and minimize emissions not only for shopping centers but also for office buildings as demonstrated exemplarily by the new headquarter of ThyssenKrupp AG, which is currently under construction in Essen. DGNB awarded the project with a Pre-Certificate in Gold. The primary energy demand expected for the office buildings falls below the requirements of the tightened Energy Saving Regulation (EnEV, 10/2007) by 20 to 30%. Similarly economical buildings, especially buildings with noteworthy glazing, were hardly realized in Germany up to now. ThyssenKrupp thus sets standards for technol
