Steyr architects planned Metro Salzburg

STEYR. As general planners, the architects Poppe*Prehal from Steyr were allowed to completely renovate the Metro Cash&Carry market in Wals-Siezenheim. The festive opening took place on November 7th.

“Our ambitious goal at Metro Salzburg was to integrate the innovative climate concept of the new building in St. Pölten, which opened in 2017, here too. The complete renovation was carried out during ongoing operations and all newly built areas are made of wood. Once again we present a lighthouse project. We are full of joy and pride!” said the architects Andreas Prehal and Helmut Poppe.

Sustainable renovation

Metro St. Pölten demonstrated this five years ago with the Cash & Carry Market Zero1. It was built as Metro Group’s first zero-emissions building and received BREEM “Outstanding” certification. Only two percent of all certified commercial buildings worldwide achieve this level of sustainability. The goal in Salzburg was clear, uncluttered architecture both inside and out. The building complex, which has grown over the years, was carefully shaped and expanded through intelligent architectural redesign and sustainable renovation in order to meet the requirements of the future.

Wood as the preferred material, little technology

The high-bay warehouses were relocated from the market center to the edge; in the heart, a bright, open space was created with a gallery running all around, a light-flooded atrium. “This comfort and the aha experience with a panoramic view have already proven themselves in St. Pölten and have been extremely well received by customers,” say the planning architects. The checkout area was completely redesigned using wooden construction. In general, the architects used wood for all new building elements – including the new high-bay warehouse. “We packed energy efficiency into the market’s new architecture – with as little technology as possible. Because technology always means maintenance, effort and costs. It is much smarter to plan the building shell intelligently and to make optimal use of the processes and necessary technology,” say the forward-looking architects.

Fire fans also serve as a night ventilation system

The goal was to dispense with conventional ventilation and air conditioning systems throughout the sales area and to implement temperature control through night cooling. Due to the existing structures, there were planning restrictions. It was unavoidable to install fire smoke fans on the ground floor facade and on the roof. In the event of a fire, these fans remove smoke from the building. These same fans are also used for night ventilation, but at low speed to circulate the air. This made it possible to dispense with the use of an additional mechanical ventilation system and air conditioning in the entire sales area.

Reduction of CO2 emissions

The renovation of the Metro market reduced CO2 emissions from 87.0 kg/m²a to 20.5 kg/m²a. This results in a total CO2 reduction of 994 tons per year. The PV system on the newly built high-bay warehouse has a connected load of 67 kWp. No PV system could be installed on the main roof due to the existing structure’s insufficient load-bearing capacity.

Continuous operation

The Wals-Siezenheim Metro market was completely rebuilt in two construction stages in just under a year and a half. The market remained operational throughout the renovation. “It’s like operating with an open heart with extensive assembly and dismantling of various temporary solutions, for example for fire protection,” said the architects with a smile. “To be honest, I am pleased that we were able to incorporate the forward-looking innovations that made the new market building in St. Pölten a beacon here in the general renovation – night cooling, waste heat utilization, high-bay warehouse out of the center,” is the clear conclusion the architects.