Often considered a symbol in its historic economic transformation, Colombia’s sprawling, highly elevated capital of Bogotá is a highly dynamic economic hotbed today. With its rapidly growing consumer market, Bogotá has grown as one of the most competitive commercial centers in Latin America. As an important player in the Latin American retail business, Falabella sought to set an example in this booming market with the construction of its new store. The aim: minimize the use of resources for maximum benefit. Thermaflex rose to the challenge.
Falabella Retail Store, Bogotá Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia
Duration: 1 Year
5,000 m² of comfortable recreation
1,700 meters of PB pipes
900 tons of refrigeration equipment
Luxury shopping at minimal cost
Goals
The Titan Plaza mall strives to deliver an ultimate shopping experience for its many visitors. Importantly, that includes a high level of thermal comfort. For the expansion of the plaza, an efficient and reliable chilled water system was needed to operate reliably, securing an optimal level of comfort, while maximizing energy savings. Additionally, the need for maintenance was to be sustainably kept to a minimum.
Project Process
The Falabella department store was to be built in the latest segment of the “Titan Plaza” shopping center – one of the biggest and most attractive shopping centers in Bogotá. Its numerous retail and lifestyle stores, and a number of food courts make it quite the hotspot in the bustling city. As part of the expansion and renovation plans of the Chilean retail chain, the Falabella project would connect the new store with the energy facilities in the shopping center.
A vital element in this objective was the building’s chilled water system. Considering Bogotá’s hot and humid climate, an efficient and sustainable solution was key.
This pioneering project covered a considerable network of users, including a multitude of shops, restaurants, supermarkets and offices. In order to realize an optimal solution to maximize the benefit for all connected parties, a chilled water system was co-created to secure a high level of comfort level while minimizing the use of energy.
The system was conceived with 1,700m of Flexalen pre-insulated Polybutene (PB-1) pipes with diameters ranging from from ¾’’ to 6″ to foster for the capacity produced by 900 tons of refrigeration equipment. Starting in March 2012, both design and implementation of the system was ready and in operation by October that same year.
Results
The entire design, development and installation of both the pre-insulated pipe system and the technical insulation for the chilled water system could be quickly and efficiently realized with the support of our Latin American team. The solution, co-created together with the owners of the Falabella store, ensures an optimal performance at the highest comfort level. The remarkably low energy use by its numerous users testifies greatly to the energy efficiency of the system. On top of that, the count of maintenance issues is still at 0, preventing any related (and costly) downtime for the bustling commercial center.
