Building facade reconstruction – best experience in shopping centres renovation

Most existing shopping centres in Ukraine were built 10-15 years ago and outlived their commercially efficient life cycle, which comprises 7-10 years.

 

According to construction market experts, around a half of the existing shopping centre buildings in Ukraine are morally and technically outdated and thus need renovation.

 

One of the ways to attract customers in the growing competition and to breathe new life into a shopping centre building is adjustment of its concept design. Normally such concept design adjustment may include change of the internal layout, increase of its area, change of uses etc., however it almost always includes reconstruction of the building façade. It is evident, because a façade is the building’s face, capable to make it unique and architecturally expressed.

 

 

Reconstruction of shopping centre façades allows:

 

1. Renewing the appearance, making the building look modern and more attractive for customers. This makes a shopping centre more competitive, compared to other nearby objects.
2. Increasing energy efficiency and thus considerably reducing the costs for heating and air-conditioning of a real estate object. Usage of modern energy-saving structures, such as ventilated façades and sandwich panels, allows integrating solar panels into the façades as well. It is worth noting that in the latest 10 years, energy efficiency requirements to buildings have increased by 50%, and façade reconstruction enables a renovated object to meet the latest norms.
3. Attracting customers’ attention at night time with the help of modern integrated façade lighting. An upgraded façade would allow installation of additional advertisement media screens.
4. Eliminating freezing/wetting and other defects of the façade, caused by usage of non-durable materials, installation defects or impacts during operation.
5. Aligning the building with the modern fire safety requirements: replacing the outdated combustible materials with non-combustible ones and providing additional fire escape exits.
6. Renewing fire protection covers of the building structural frame elements, the useful life of which has expired, because normally the useful life of fire protection elements comprises 10-20 years.
7. Providing translucent structures where necessary in case of changing the layout of internal premises.

 

A number of Eastern European shopping centers, and today – those in the CIS, have gone through complete reconstruction with façades renovation.

 

 

Reconstruction of building facades can be rather cost-saving in case of replacement of ventilated façade cladding for more contemporary one. Installation of new ventilated façade can also be done above the existing wall of sandwich panels or other materials. The costliest method is full replacement of façades with possible change of their configuration and entrance groups architecture.

 

For the new façade to become durable, energy-efficient, and expressive, reliable solutions with quality materials have to be used. One of the best solutions for façades reconstruction is usage of the Ruukki Finnish technologies, which have been made use of in many reconstructed shopping and shopping and entertainment centres.

 

 

As the result of optimal organization of reconstruction, a shopping centre gets an increase in the number of visitors by 30-50% in average, and the owner can raise the level of rent rates and return on investments. In this case, usage of modern materials allows gaining a higher grade in the building energy efficiency passport, as well as for the purposes for LEED, BREEAM, and FM sustainability certification, thus increasing the cost of such a building.

 

The cost of façade reconstruction, depending on the technology applied, comprises from 30 to 150 USD per m². A façade reconstruction project usually takes 3-6 months and consists of the following stages:

 

1. Concept Design – 1 month
2. Façade design – 1-2 months
3. Materials supply – 1-2 months
4. Façade assembly – 1-2 months

 

In this case, as a rule, façade replacement is carried out without full stopping of building operation.