The smart multi-purpose hall
Totally Integrated Power: Thanks to reliable power supply and intelligent
fire protection, Berlin’s CityCube is a flexible and multifunctional space.
The Deutschlandhalle in Berlin, Germany, hosted major
events of all kinds for more than 70 years. Bombed out in
the war and later reconstructed, it was the largest
multi-purpose hall in Germany, and one of the oldest in the
world, until it was demolished in 2011. Its location on the
Messedamm in Berlin is now home to the CityCube. The
multifunctional exhibition, conference, and event arena
extending over two levels and offering some 22,000 m² of
floor space requires reliable, flexible energy supply and
management.
Assured supply and a high degree of flexibility
Siemens consultants used the Simaris planning tool from
the Totally Integrated Power (TIP) portfolio to plan the
power supply and configure the network. Since the complex’s opening in May 2014, Siemens technology –
Messe Berlin
CityCube in Berlin:
The multifunctional
exhibition, conference,
and event arena will
make the Berlin trade
fair center fit for a
competitive future
medium and low-voltage switchgear, a transformer, and a
busbar trunking system – has been providing reliable
power supply and power distribution throughout the
building. Klaus-Jürgen Häberlen, one of four Siemens consultants on the project, explains: “In addition to its low fire
load thanks to its steel sheet housing, the busbar trunking
system above all offers a high degree of flexibility.”
The tap-off units, for example, enable flexible power
tapping. And flexibility is key for the CityCube: Movable
partition walls on both levels allow each floor to be divided
into as many as eight conference halls and meeting rooms.
A particular challenge for fire protection
Flexible usage poses particular challenges in terms of fire
protection. Shortly after the opening, for example, an
E-Installation 1/2016
international corporation transformed the upper level into
a disco. Fake mist rose up to the 12-m-high ceiling. “With
its 1,600 fire detectors, the installation is able to differentiate reliably between fake scenarios and real fires,” says
Bernd Marx, Siemens fire protection contact for the Berlin
expo center operator. “It would be disastrous not to detect
a real fire.”
The CityCube features a state-of-the-art protection system
to prevent such failures. It is the first building on the trade
fair complex site to be fitted out according to so-called
full-protection monitoring standards. “The system monitors every false floor, every elevator shaft,” Marx explains.
“There are virtually no blind spots for the fire protection
system.”
All data collected in one system
The new fire alarm system was connected to the existing
Sinteso system installed in the other trade fair center buildings, enabling the entire fire protection system to be monitored and controlled by one master control system. It was
also connected to the Desigo building management
system. “Linking the two networks is nowhere near standard at present, but it is extremely useful,” asserts Heiko
Melzer, head of safety solutions for Siemens in Berlin.
For the CityCube that means, for example, that of the
120 aspirating smoke detectors, only the ones in the area
affected by the fire are activated. At the same time, the
escape routes are illuminated and the elevators are
stopped. To cut the oxygen supply to a fire, the air-conditioning systems can also be switched off and the windows
closed by motor control, blocking the ingress of fresh air.
Thanks to this flexible design, the CityCube not only has an
adaptable, precisely responding fire protection system, but
it is also most likely the smartest multi-purpose hall in the
world.
siemens.com/tip-cs
[email protected]
Stephan Klonk Fotodesign
Through a total of 3,900 data points, Desigo regulates,
controls, and monitors the heating, air-conditioning, ventilation, lighting, and window shutters in the CityCube. “And
not just there,” says Heiko Siehl, the Siemens building
automation sales manager who is responsible for the trade
fair center. “The operating company runs its own control
station, which handles the building management for the
whole complex, with data from over 40,000 sensors and
switches.” Roy Gerlach, Siemens building automation
project manager, adds: “The link to the fire protection
system means entire fire scenarios can be managed.”
Behind the scenes of the CityCube
In May, 30 Siemens employees were given
the opportunity to take a look behind the
scenes of the CityCube multifunctional
exhibition, conference, and event arena.
Highlights included the CityCube’s technical
control room and the master control center
for the entire Berlin trade fair site, where
data from more than 40,000 sensors and
switches from all the buildings in the
complex converge.
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