Frankfurt am Main : SPIE modernises the Westend Gate skyscraper’s electrical infrastructure during building’s day-to-day operations

Frankfurt am Main, 22 December 2020 – In 2013, SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, began work on gradually modernising the safety, security and power supply systems in a landmark building on the Frankfurt skyline : the Westend Gate office and hotel skyscraper. This multi-year contract has made amazing progress, with set to finish this year.

SPIE has modernised the electrical infrastructure at Westend Gate, replacing the building’s original systems dating back to the 1970s. Across the building’s 47 storeys, the multi-technical services provider upgraded not only the power supply, but also various safety and security systems (fire alarms, voice alarms, security systems, access control, lighting and emergency lighting) as well as data networks and multimedia systems. In addition to the work carried out in the common areas, the company has performed extensive tenant improvement work too.

Set periods for noisy work

The contract was nothing short of a logistical tour de force. Westend Gate is home to offices as well as hotel and restaurant areas – and SPIE carried out all the work alongside the building’s day-to-day operations, which were not to be disrupted. Noisy work was – and will continue to be – performed only at set times agreed upon in close coordination with the building’s owner and tenants. While SPIE was initially authorised to perform noisy work for no longer than two hours per day, the teams were later required to carry out this work only over a three-hour period on Saturdays and only after giving notification. “This represented a huge challenge and required outstanding planning skills on the part of our project team”, says Turhan Can, Branch Manager at Rüsselsheim in SPIE’s Building Technology & Automation operational division. “So to modernise the electrical systems in the stairwell for example, we employed the wet drilling method. This involves special machines that don’t make any impact noise”. In the stairwell alone, SPIE wet-drilled 11,000 holes for attaching the electrical installations.

Modernising the power supply without disrupting day-to-day operations

Other challenges included replacing the low-voltage main distribution boards for the daily and emergency power supplies and the medium-voltage switchgear without disrupting the building’s day-to-day operations. “It’s now increasingly common for existing buildings to undergo technical modernisation and modifications”, says Turhan Can. “So we have to ensure that the power supply remains up and running at all times and that the building’s day-to-day operations are not disrupted”. To replace the 10 kV main medium-voltage supply system, the multi-technical services provider set up two medium-voltage switchgear systems in a rented container, located in the building’s service yard, to provide the skyscraper with a power supply while work was ongoing. SPIE successfully completed all the work on the medium-voltage switchgear within just seven months.

Customised solutions and efficient implementation

Thanks to the highly cooperative and always solution-orientated partnership with the customer as well as the SPIE team’s many years of experience, ideas and highly efficient approach, the multi-technical services provider has been the preferred partner for all electrical work at Westend Gate since the contract began back in 2013. As a result, SPIE has been awarded numerous additional orders based on this initial contract. In 2015 and 2016, for example, the multi-technical services provider installed the electrical infrastructure in the Aparthotel Adagio. SPIE is also regularly involved in implementing a range of tenant improvements. ‘When office space is rented out again, we’re responsible for the interior electrical installations and preparing the equipment for the new tenant – always on schedule and exactly in line with the tenant’s requirements’, says Turhan Can. At peak times, a team of 30 people is working in the property. The project managers expect all work to be completed by the end of this year.