Aertermica
Milan, Italy
A case study on the Palazzo della Regione Lombardia, Milan, Italy
Situated in the North of Italy, the region of Lombardia has always been one of the most prosperous areas of Europe.
With a population of nearly 10 million and occupying an area of almost 24,000km², Lombardia is a vibrant region with plenty to offer, both culturally and economically, especially its capital city, Milan.
The new headquarters of the Regional Government, the Palazzo della Regione Lombardia, consists of a 160m high tower of reinforced concrete, steel and glass and is one of the most sustainable buildings in Europe. In order to ensure this feat of engineering remained adequately supplied with hot and cold water, air conditioning and ventilation, the lead contractor, Aertermica, approached Xylem Water Solutions Italia.
“Aertermica required Xylem to install pumping systems in four of the building’s 39 floors to achieve a regular and reliable flow of water around the tower.”
For basement level -3, Xylem fitted booster sets complete with variable speed drives from its Lowara GHV 20 range to address the tower’s water needs, as well as a Lowara FHS* single stage centrifugal electric pump, dedicated to transporting hot and cold water around the building.
Level -1 was also fitted with Lowara GHV20 booster sets to ensure that potable water was able to reach all floors up to level 9. Further Lowara FHS pumps were then installed on level 9 to facilitate the transport of water for the heating and air conditioning system of the floors above level 9.
The pumping system was crowned by a Lowara FCE* in line pump on the tower’s 37th floor to ensure that the final floors also received the same level of reliable water supply.
Marco Brignani’s, Sales Engineer for Xylem, commented on the project:
“Aertermica asked us to provide a complete solution with all the necessary pumps. As Xylem came recommended by the specifier, it was highly important that we were able to deliver the best pumping solution possible.”
He continues:
“The Palazzo Lombardia was our first assignment working with Aertermica and we have since then gone on to form a successful partnership together across a variety of different projects.”
Since the tower’s completion, the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) recognised Palazzo Lombardia as ‘the best skyscraper in Europe’ for 2012. The award took into account the design, sustainability and innovation of the tower and it was the first Italian building to receive this award.
*The Lowara FHS and FCE ranges were replaced by the modern e-NSC and e-LNE ranges in 2014.