In Baltenswil near Bassersdorf (ZH), the Balti Center is a modern retail building that impresses with its clear design language, resource-efficient construction and flexible use. The elegant wooden façade in warm chestnut brown gives the two upper floors a natural look, while the base floor is highlighted by the characteristic LANDI color.
Where solid construction meets wood
The basement of the four- floor building was built in solid construction. From the first floor upwards, a precisely prefabricated timber element construction method with Swiss timber was used. This combination enabled a particularly short construction time of just 17 months and a high ecological quality: a total of 2,411 m³ of wood was used, permanently binding around 1,949 tons of CO₂.
The façade consists of pressure-impregnated, rear-ventilated timber cladding. Energy is supplied by a heat pump, which is supplemented by a powerful photovoltaic system with an average annual output of over 300,000 kWh.
Use and room concept
The first floor houses a spacious LANDI store with 1,000 m² of sales space for indoor goods and 485 m² for bulky goods. The offer is supplemented by 680 m² of storage space. An additional store offers 100 m² of sales space and 60 m² of storage space. The upper floors house 3,100 m² of flexibly usable office and commercial space. There are 83 underground parking spaces and 59 outdoor parking spaces available for employees and customers.
Structural design with DELTABEAM®
A central element of the structural design was the use of the DELTABEAM® composite beam from Peikko. DELTABEAM® shows its strengths particularly in combination with the timber element construction method: The slender ceiling structures harmonize ideally with the requirements for lightweight construction, prefabrication and sustainability. In addition to the low construction height, the beams also allow large spans, which is ideal for the open design of the sales and office areas. Thanks to the slim-floor-design of the DELTABEAM® system, the HVAC installation could be easily integrated into the ceiling construction. This also allowed the reduced storey heights. A total of 51 DELTABEAM® beams were installed in the building. This corresponds to 472 linear meters or 53 tons of steel.
The advantages of the DELTABEAM® system at a glance:
- Long spans
- Flexible open space
- Additional room height
- Easy and space-saving HVAC installations
- Lower heating and cooling costs
- Integrated fireproofing
- Suitable for all slab and column types
These characteristics contributed significantly to the architectural freedom, the shortening of the construction time and the economic implementation as well as to the fulfillment of the high requirements for sustainability and flexibility in the concept of use.
