Logistics Center as a Smart Building Block for the Future
The complex of buildings in the Bavarian town of Obernburg comprises eight hall units. Seven units of approximately 10,000 square meters each will be used as logistics warehouses. In an additional unit of 2,400 square meters hazardous materials can be stored. There are also offices, storage areas and staff social facilities on intermediate levels. Each hall unit has ten ramps and doors and is equipped with hydraulic dock levelers. This enables trucks to be variably loaded and unloaded. This new building costing around 50 million euros is now one of the largest logistics buildings in the whole of the region. The warehouse areas will not only be used by ICO companies. Interested companies from the region can also rent storage space to compensate for any shortfall in their own warehouse infrastructure. ‘To meet the demands of Industrie 4.0, our focus in the new logistics center is on digital processes. An innovative enterprise resource planning system is linked with a fully computerized fleet of fork lift trucks to achieve a high degree of automation,’ says Andreas Schneider, Head of Real Estate and Site Development at Mainsite. The logistics operation is the responsibility of the subsidiary company Mainsite Logistik Services GmbH.
Largest Green Roof in Bavaria as a Compensatory Measure
In future, about 150 trucks will arrive at the site every day. To avoid congestion, the local transport infrastructure was carefully studied. Various measures have been taken as a result, for example by creating more generous turning lanes and 25,000 square meters of parking, turning and reversing space for trucks.
A sustainable shift of transport modes is also possible because there are ideal connections to inland waterways and the railroad network. As a nature compensation measure, Mainsite has created a green roof area of 71,000 square meters which is the largest in the federal state of Bavaria and the second largest in Germany. It includes hills, dead wood areas and wet zones to reflect the earth's natural biological zones as realistically as possible. The roof's substrate layer retains about 60 percent of the total precipitation. The condensation effect ensures that the indoor temperatures are kept low. The roof is strong enough to walk on, and even suitable for visits by school classes. ‘The green roof makes the building more expensive because the load-bearing structure needs to be stronger, but it will last about 30 percent longer than a normal roof. It also provides better insulation against hot and cold weather,’ comments Daniela Heilig, the Senior Project Partner at Drees & Sommer.
Planning in Detail for a Successful Project
The first construction phase of the ICO logistics center was completed at the end of May 2019 after just 10 months of construction work. The general contractor Dreßler Bau handed over the second construction phase to the Mainsite operating company in September 2019, and delivered the whole of the complex at the beginning of November. From the start of the project, Drees & Sommer supported the client with project management services. This covered extensive civil engineering work such as tree clearance and rerouting of underground water well supply pipes, in addition to the actual construction of the building. Drees & Sommer was also responsible for technical project finance controls and cooperated with Conclude to set up an Internet-based platform for the exchange and archiving of documents.