The new shopping experience LOOP5 recently opened its doors to visitors in Weiterstadt near Frankfurt/Main. LOOP5 was jointly developed by Sonae Sierra, the international specialists for shopping malls, and the partner Foncière Euris.

Aviation-themed Centre

Under the motto „aviation“, an extraordinary shopping experience awaits customers in LOOP5, taking up a sales space of 56,500 sqm (GLA – gross leasable area) and distributed across four floors. The number 5 is a reference to the excellent location immediately next to the A5. The LOOP part of the name refers to aviation, hinting at the proximity of Frankfurt Airport and of the Control Centre of the European Space Agency ESA in Darmstadt.
In the interior of the Centre, themed corridors guide through the fascinating history of flight. A MIG-21 is suspended from the ceiling and aircraft seats invite visitors to rest for a while.

High demands upon the pipe system

From the very start of construction, high demands were placed upon the materials used. Laying waste water pipes at temperatures below 0°C only allowed the use of products with a high low-temperature impact strength. The risk of damage to the pipe material during the stage of transport, storage and installation would otherwise be too great.

Just for the drainage system, around 3000 running metres of POLO-ECO plus pipes in the dimensions DN/OD 160 to 500 were laid as underground pipes. A large proportion of these was installed in the area of the foundation plates.

During concreting, the deflection of the pipe system due to buoyant forces poses a significant technical challenge. So do mechanical loads, such as impact loads produced by the compression process carried out with concrete vibrating apparatus.

Green Shopping Centre

Environmental protection is a constant concern of the company operating the Centre. Already at the construction stage, the site was certified compliant with the environmental standard ISO 14001. The stated aim of the Sierra Green Centre concept is to minimise the environmental impact caused by construction and operation of new shopping malls. The use of ecological electricity sends a very clear signal in this regard.

POLO-ECO plus impresses with more than merely its strong performance during installation and operation. A three-layer mineral-reinforced PP wall structure also carries considerable ecological advantages, as a study carried out at the Institute for Industrial Ecology confirms. The study Windsperger/Steinlechner – Ecological Assessment of PP ML pipes 1998 – revealed that the material polypropylene and the mineral-based intermediate layer of POLO-ECO plus demonstrated a significant reduction of the ecological impact.