WestendGate, a high rise complex built in 1976 with offices, a hotel and conference centre in Frankfurt am Main, is currently undergoing comprehensive modernisation and energy refurbishment.
Buildin…
WestendGate, a high rise complex built in 1976 with offices, a hotel and conference centre in Frankfurt am Main, is currently undergoing comprehensive modernisation and energy refurbishment. Building-integrated photovoltaics from Sunways forms part of the energy concept and the faade design. WestendGate is now the first office tower in Frankfurt featuring faade-integrated solar modules over the whole height of the building. Over recent weeks the modules were installed at the southwest corners of two of the towers in conjunction with the new building envelope supplied by Lindner Fassaden GmbH, Arnstorf. As part of the overall concept the PV system was planned by Baumgartner GmbH, Kippenheim. The system consisting of 10,500 emerald-green Sunways Solar Cells (multicrystalline silicon solar cells, format 125 x 125mm in glass-glass design modules with enamel backs) and several Sunways Solar Inverters has a peak capacity of 22 kilowatts. “This impressive project is something that everyone involved can be proud of. It reinforces my own and my colleagues“ conviction that our innovative capacity and the consistent focus on customised, design-oriented PV solutions offers a good basis for further successful growth of Sunways in building-integrated photovoltaics,” said Michael Wilhelm, Chairman of the Management Board of Sunways AG. After the skyscraper with three wings and a height of 159m had been completed in 1976 opposite the Frankfurt trade fair site under its original name of Plaza Bro Center, it was Germany“s tallest building. Under Frankfurt-based master planners Just/Burgeff Architects the complex is currently undergoing comprehensive modernization and energy refurbishment. The new faade will not only offer much better insulation, the integrated photovoltaics will also improve the CO2 balance of the high-rise building. In addition, the refurbishment of the building services will reduce the energy consumption of the building significantly. Overall, the refurbishment measures result in primary energy savings of 36% not only a cost advantage for the tenants of WestendGate, but also a benefit for the environment. For the energy efficiency improvements achieved during this project, WestendGate was awarded a Green Building certificate from the European Union. Sunways Production GmbH in Arnstadt/Germany is a subsidiary of Sunways AG; in addition, the group has own branch offices in Barcelone/Spain and Bologna/Italy. In 2009, Sunways AG with about 320 employees realized sales of about EUR 180 million. The shares of Sunways AG are listed at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.