Aesthetics and sustainability leave a stamp on a new part of town

The waterfront in Aarhus is in transition. Where a container port used to be situated, a canal city is now being constructed, housing as many as 8,000 residents and 12,000 workplaces by the time the last building crane has left the area. All buildings are constructed as low-energy houses and a relatively large part of them contain rental flats. Sustainability is an overall priority.

However, it is neither the buildings’ spectacular architecture nor the unique location right at the water’s edge of Aarhus bay that occupies Senior Sales Engineer, Morten Vinther from the Danish sales company, as he moves around, feeling at home in the new part of town. He is far more interested in what is hidden behind the front.

“We have sold the pumps for every single building, and when I meet with the customers, it is not to have a cup of coffee with them at the office. I always go for the building sites and technical rooms from the start, where I thoroughly study the contexts in which our pumps have to work”, Morten Vinther says.

Trouble-shooter

One of the technical rooms Morten Vinther knows in and out is situated in one of the new part of town’s most significant buildings. It is the seven-sided multimedia house Dokk1, which has attracted great interest nationally as well as internationally and received several awards for its remarkable architecture. Here, Project Manager Christian L. Kallesøe from Brøndum A/S has enjoyed the benefits of his visits. The engineering development firm is behind all of the building’s plumbing, heating and sanitation installations, which Grundfos has delivered the pumps for.

“The installations in a construction project of these dimensions naturally afford challenges. When that happens, we especially appreciate that Morten Vinther and his colleagues from Grundfos are very concerned about preventing and solving our problem. We have acknowledged that, by giving them free access to the technical room, and Grundfos takes advantage of that by for instance using the building for testing new, technological advances”, Christian L. Kallesøe tells.

Constructive collaboration

As building owner, Aarhus Municipality has, during the construction of Dokk1, focused strongly on sustainability, and exceptionally high demands were made for the building’s energy consumption.

“The pumps had to contribute to minimising the energy consumption, and that involved amongst others that they had to be frequency controlled. Grundfos was naturally able to meet all the demands, and thanks to a great and constructive collaboration, we have delivered installations of high quality. Both Brøndum A/S as entrepreneur and Aarhus Municipality as building owner are fully satisfied with what Grundfos has delivered – both regarding products, service and response time”, says Christian L. Kallesøe.

The project manager’s experience correlates well with how Morten Vinther defines his own role. Even though his business card says Sales Engineer, he sees his work as far from completed when the pumps have been sold.

“It is also me who shows up if problems occur in the installations the pumps are part of. The customers know they can call for help anytime, and many of them make use of that”, he says.