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Story 177 – 2016 – Innovation

Landmark with inner values

There is plenty of Wieland in the Elbphilharmonie

The Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall in Hamburg is a building of superlatives - and has long since become the new landmark of the Hanseatic city. Less well known: Behind the style-defining brick and glass façade, kilometres of copper tubes from Wieland ensure efficient building technology.

The Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall in Hamburg is one of the buildings that made headlines even before its completion. Presented as an idea in 2001, the ambitious project immediately triggered strong reactions from the public: too big, too ambitious, too expensive. And indeed, when the decision to build it was taken in 2007, it was expected to be completed three years later and to cost 77 million euros. The planned construction period was exceeded by six years, and the costs literally exploded to a breathtaking 866 million euros.

Nevertheless: since its completion in 2016, the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall has more than fulfilled the expectations placed in it. Not only because more than 800,000 people attended the concerts in its first year, but also because the urban development concept of the planners and architects was a complete success - the 110-metre high building in HarbourCity was to become a "cultural monument for all" and a new landmark of Hamburg from the outset. Both goals were achieved with flying colours: today the Elbphilharmonie is the world-famous "calling card" of the Hanseatic city and a symbol of the courage to skilfully combine the new with the old.

The 200,000-tonne building is located on the western tip of the Elbe island of Grasbrook and includes the former dock warehouse Kaispeicher A with its typical neo-Gothic brick façade. In contrast, the unmistakable glass structure is reminiscent of a sail, waves or even a quartz crystal.

What is not visible from the outside is that underneath the spectacular appearance lies a lot of Wieland quality: astonishing 25 kilometres of copper installation pipes were used for the building technology in the concert hall. Both bare copper tubes of the SANCO brand and coated copper tubes of the WICU brand as well as flexible cuprotherm CTX copper tubes were used for drinking water pipes, hot water heating systems, panel heating and for other applications in the field of technical building services. The fact that these products are relied on for such a building of superlatives - also with regard to functionality and durability requirements - is further proof of the trust placed in Wieland in terms of quality and performance.

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Plumbing tubes

The durable cuprotherm CTX quality tubes are particularly easy and flexible to install. They ensure pleasant temperatures in the surface heating of the Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall.