Main content:
Workout for the sports hall in Dormagen
-
The sports hall had seen better days. For instance – although it’s hard to believe it – national handball league games were once held here that were broadcast in TV and were viewed by around 1,000 spectators. The hall was now in urgent need of renovation.
© RWTH Aachen
When asked to explain in detail what was renovated at this sports hall, Bernd Blochwitz has a simple answer: "Everything!" Blochwitz is head of the Dormagen utility company that is responsible for the building management in the town. At the beginning of the project, it was seriously contemplated demolishing the old building and starting again. Instead the entire building technology was renewed, ranging from the ceiling and wall cladding to the complete facade structure. Thanks to this project, the sports hall – which can look back on a rich history – has got itself back into shape and is ready to be a model of energy efficiency. In future, the hall will require 60 per cent less energy. The sports hall in Dormagen, which is located north of Cologne, dates back to 1972. For years the hall also hosted national handball league games, whereby the triple-court sports hall provided space for up to 1,000 spectators. Even lighting technology for TV broadcasts was installed. The hall is now only used for school and club sporting activities as well as for smaller competitions. In the last few years the sports hall, which in construction terms is typical for a large number of similar sports halls, was in serious need of renovation and modernisation.
Building summary
| Project status |  Built / Renovated |
|---|---|
| Location | Konrad-Adenauer-Straße 2, 41538 Dormagen, Nordrhein-Westfalen |
| Year of construction | 1972 |
| Refurbished | 2010 |
| Gross floor area | 3,168 m2 |
| Heated net floor area | 2,800 m2 |
| Gross volume | 22,541 m3 |
| A/V ratio before refurbishment | 0.33 m2/m3 |
| A/V ratio after refurbishment | 0.33 m2/m3 |
| Key aspects |
|
Project description
The sports hall in Dormagen, which is located north of Cologne, dates back to 1972. For years the hall also hosted national handball league games, whereby the triple-court sports hall provided space for up to 1,000 spectators. Even lighting technology for TV broadcasts was installed. The hall is now only used for school and club sporting activities as well as for smaller competitions. In the last few years the sports hall, which in construction terms is typical for a large number of similar sports halls, was in serious need of renovation and modernisation.
The sports hall has three individually usable courts, each of which has its own equipment room. In addition, there are the obligatory changing rooms and shower/WC facilities, a gym and a bistro in the entrance area.
Renovation concept
As part of the renovation, the building envelope is being improved in energy terms, the building services equipment renewed and the existing spectator stand reduced in size: the hall will only seat 200 instead of 1,000 spectators. The energy-based renovation of the sports hall is being integrated in the overall renovation of the building, whereby the external appearance and the internal layout are also being revised.
The building has a steel supporting structure on which large-sized aerated concrete panels are mounted on the exterior. As part of the facade renovation, steel sandwich elements will be hung on the facade, which will also be partly structurally load-bearing in order to reduce loads on the steel structure. In addition, the heating and ventilation technology is also being completely renewed and changed, whereby heating elements fixed to the ceiling will now be deployed. The air volume circulated every hour will be considerably reduced and the air utilised in a multistage system. There is also an extensive package of other detailed refinements.
Preliminary investigations showed that it was not possible to simply use conventional thermal insulation systems, since the statutory wind load requirements were made more stringent during the course of the planning. Faulty anchors were also found on the facade panels. A renovation solution therefore had to be found in which, despite the additional facade layers, the loads on the existing facade are actually reduced. This requirement has been met by using steel sandwich panels fixed to the supporting steel structure. The masonry walls for the ancillary spaces (changing rooms, toilets, etc.), on the other hand, have been clad with a standard thermal insulation system.
The roof also had to be renovated, the windows replaced and the entire building services equipment renewed. All windows that still had single glazing were replaced. The principle used for the roof structure was changed. Instead of a cold roof with a large air cavity, a warm roof has now been realised in which the insulation has been applied above the supporting structure. The large gap in the aerated concrete facade was bricked up.
The infrared images taken at the beginning showed that the base of the building creates a considerable thermal bridge. Perimeter thermal insulation has therefore been applied.
Energy concept
The building will be heated in future using district heating. The heat will be released via ceiling radiation panels in the sports hall and via radiators in the ancillary spaces. Four 14-metre-long ceiling radiation panels are being installed in all three hall sections. The supply air can also be heated using fan heaters. In order to be prepared for a possible change in the heat supply, 15% larger heat surfaces have been chosen so that a low-temperature heat source can be used in future instead of district heating.
The heating is controlled in accordance with the weather. Heating the hall using internal heat recovery is not unproblematic, since during normal operation there are up to 90 athletes in the hall, which corresponds to a heat output of around 27 kilowatts. In competitions, this “heat output” can increase to almost 50 kilowatts. A mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery is used for the ventilation. In addition, the hall can also be cooled down during cool summer nights. The heat recovery, which uses a conventional rotation and cascade heat exchanger, is able to recover a good 90% of the heat from the exhaust air. Active cooling is not used so there is also no air drying or humidification.
The air is fed into the hall through the ceiling. The swirl diffusers can be temporarily aligned horizontally for Badminton games. The air is extracted via the existing underfloor ducting. Part of the air is then filtered as required and fed as supply air into the changing rooms section. From there the exhaust air is then fed back to the heat recovery system. The ancillary spaces therefore receive their supply air from the hall and not from outside. This ventilation concept, which deviates from DIN 18032, saves energy. Its reliability has already been verified by a TÜV report for other sports halls, but the developer has to obtain approval in each individual case.
The hot water is heated centrally and around 1,000 litres are stored.
The hot water circulates as far as the faucets with a temperature above 60 °C. The shower faucets are made of stainless steel, are intrinsically safe and have an optical trigger. The triggers for the faucets can be programmed to ensure legionella protection: at a predefined time at night when the showers are not in use, all pipes – including the faucets – are automatically flushed with hot water. This therefore meets the requirements of the DVGW (German gas and water association).
Performance
Information on this subject will become available as the project continues.
Optimisation measures and possibilities
Information on this subject will become available as the project continues.
Construction costs and economic viability
Information on this subject will become available as the project continues.
Key energy data
| Energy indices according to German regulation EnEV (in kWh/m2a) | before refurbishment | after refurbishment |
| Heating energy demand | 152.00 | 40.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Overall primary energy requirement | 228.00 | 153.00 |
| Measured energy consumption data (in kWh/m2a) | before refurbishment | after refurbishment |
| Site energy for heating and domestic hot water (dhw) | 142.00 |
