At Riu Plaza España, aquatherm products provide
Potable water, cooling and security 

An impressive view over Madrid is offered to the guests of Riu Plaza España. Opened in the summer of 2019, the four-star hotel in the famous skyscraper Edificio España in Plaza de España, with its 27 floors and 117 metres, is one of the tallest buildings in the Spanish capital.

The Edificio España has a varied history behind it. From 1948 to 1953 it was built in the neo-baroque style and since then has been one of the architectural landmarks of the Spanish capital. When built, it was the tallest building in Spain. Its first owner was the real estate company Metro-vacesa. After several changes of ownership in the 2000s, it finally was bought the Mallorcan hotel group Riu Hotels & Resorts in 2017 with the aim to establish a four-star hotel in 24 of the 27 floors. The lower floors are home to a shopping centre.

The hotel chain has invested around 400 million euros in the purchase and conversion. The result is an exclusive, modern hotel in historic garb. In addition to more than 550 rooms, the sky bar on the 27th floor with a 360 degree view over Madrid is a highlight of the hotel. Guests can also cool off in the outdoor swimming pool, which is connected to the roof terrace by a glass bridge. Seventeen function rooms offer a total capacity for up to 1500 people.

77.000 square Metres renovated in 13 months

In only 13 months, the approximately 77.000 square metres of the building have been completely renovated – a short period of time for such an extensive construction project. In the field of piping systems, the specialist planners of the participating engineering offices RCCYP and Arditecnia decided in favour of products from aquatherm. These were used in the areas of potable water, sprinklers and for the piping of air conditioning systems. They demonstrated their benefits in many ways. In contrast to metallic piping systems, the three products, which are made of the corrosion-resistant material polypropylene, have a significantly lower weight. This made the installation much easier, especially when it came to transporting the pipes to the upper floors.

In addition, the connection technology of the systems was convincing: In “fusion welding” the pipe and fitting are briefly heated using the tools provided for this purpose and then simply joined together. As a result, the plastic combines to form a homogeneous, cohesive unit and does not lose its stability at the junction, which is critical in other systems. Assistance in planning by the technical office of the Spanish distribution partner aquatherm iberica S.L. in Madrid and good product availability were also decisive for the decision in favour of the three piping systems.

In the potable water sector, a total of five kilometres of aquatherm green pipe were installed in dimensions of 20 to 160 millimetres. The potable water quality is permanently maintained with this hygienic, odourless and tasteless piping system. aquatherm green pipe is not only resistant to corrosion, but physiologically and micro-biologically harmless and has proven its technical suitability in decades of worldwide application.

No corrosion damage thanks to polypropylene

For the piping of the fan coils, which are used throughout the building for air conditioning, the planners selected aquatherm blue pipe in dimensions between 20 and 250 millimetres. Around twelve kilometres of the pipe were used to ensure the smooth operation of the air conditioning system over many decades. Unlike steel pipes, which are often used in air-conditioning systems, and which are particularly susceptible to corrosion on the outside of the pipe, corrosion damage is a thing of the past thanks to the material polypropylene.

In the area of ​​fire safety, a special sprinkler piping system was used: aquatherm red pipe is not only certified by numerous test institutes (for example VdS, IBS, FM Approvals), but also flame retardant (building material class B1), corrosion resistant and, thanks to the heat fusion of pipe and fittings, provides the greatest possible security. Approximately 18 kilometres of the piping system has been installed and now provides security in the Riu Plaza de España.

Installation company Clima Insular and Riu Hotels & Resorts were impressed with how easily and quickly aquatherm products can be installed. In addition, the two companies praised the good service provided by aquatherm iberica S.L. The planning office Arditecnia was especially surprised by the assembly speed, which was exceptional at such a large construction site.