The Westerbach sport facility at Eschborn in the city are of Niederhöchstadt, is made up of a gymnasium with a restaurant, a competition track, a full-size synthetic turf pitch and a smaller one, also with synthetic turf.
The improvement of the Westerbach sport facilities and resulting increased numbers of spectators and users made an expansion of the existing parking spaces necessary. The dilapidated and very uneven parking lot on the Georg-Büchner street, undermined by tree roots, was replaced by a two-story parking deck, also planned by the Büro AG5 Company.
The comprehensive construction measures required a completely new design for the outdoor areas in the area of the forecourt (WISAG Company), between the gymnasium and the club house as well as around the parking deck (Sixel Company) by the offices of S. Lukowski + Partner. The forecourt area with parking for cars and bicycles was repaved. A ramp was built with a cantilever retaining wall via which the lower-level running track and the two synthetic turf pitches can be reached. A small ticket office and new fencing ensures that entry to the sports facilities can be controlled.
The restaurant next to the gymnasium was given a new terrace with a pergola which provides shade and protection from the weather.
Along with the area around the parking deck, its lower areas, the entry and exit and the area around it were paved with concrete paving stones supplemented with greenery.
Due to this renovation work a new drainage plan was necessary. Rain water from the roofs and in some cases from ground drainage was rerouted into the nearby Westerbach beck through a new main drainage pipe (up to diameter DN400) laid by the engineering company Binge Ingenieure from Darmstadt.
Renovation of the sports areas
Renovation of the sports facilities was started in the summer of 2010 with construction of a small, synthetic turf pitch by the company Strabag Sportstättenbau GmbH, Dortmund. This smaller pitch lies in the south-eastern part of the facilities. The northern part of the pitch in particular reaches well into the slope to the bordering path and required a great deal of supporting work in concrete. To achieve this, the Henrich Bau company from Eschborn built a cantilever retaining wall on a concrete foundation. The pitch, with gross dimensions of 41 x 24 metres, has a single pitch roof with an 0.8% angle. The synthetic turf system used is a powder-filled turf system laid on an elastic layer and made by the Desso company.
Due to the very poor substrate and heavy rain the building work was very difficult making soil excavation and replacement necessary in some areas. The foundations for the two 12-metre high floodlight masts were approx. 3 metres deep, as the ground did not provide any suitable support at lesser depths. The drainage system was integrated into the newly installed main drainage pipe to the nearby stream.
On the two shorter sides of the pitch and the long side bordering the Westerbach stream, a 5-metre high steel fence was installed to prevent balls from leaving the grounds. Along this side a continuous foundation was installed for the fence and its angled supports for static reasons. In order to make maintenance work on the pitch easier, a double gate was provided in the fence allowing work machines to enter and leave the existing large-sized synthetic turf pitch onto the smaller one.
A concrete paved path was built on three sides of the pitch to allow access and prevent transport of dirt into the synthetic turf.
Based on the lie of the land and the simultaneously carried out building work, a site access road was built along the old clay running track to the north of the site. Work on the small synthetic turf pitch was completed in Autumn of 2010.
Renovation of the sectioned competition running track began in March 2011 and was carried out by the Rundel GmbH company from Frankfurt am Main. The northern segment was already renovated in 2007 by the offices of S. Lukowski + Partner. The southern segment was now rebuilt with an additional synthetic pitch providing the club with greater possibilities for goalie training or as a warm-up area.
Synthetic running track
The existing clay track was replaced with a competition-certified synthetic running track with six lanes. The surface is a 13 mm cast-coated layer, type D according to DIN V 18035, part 6 with a blue surface layer installed by the Polytan company on a laminated substrate (asphalt layer).
Around the running track a spectator barrier with several access gates was built which allows access to the grass cuttings bunker. Other interconnecting paved concrete paths allow easy access to the running track as well as the newly built covered grandstand along the western side (planned by AG5).
The existing grandstand between the synthetic pitch and the smaller playing field was extended with a paved area with railings so that handicapped spectators in wheelchairs can also watch the action. The newly built grandstand around the running track was also given an area for wheelchairs which is also covered for the larger part to provide protection from rain.
In order to create a complete sound system throughout the stadium during events, the existing loudspeakers were supplemented with three new ones. The installation of these new loudspeakers was carried out according to noise regulations in order to reduce the noise for the surrounding residential areas to a minimum.
At the request of management, conduits and tensioners were installed in order to make a future expansion of the floodlight system for the turf pitch possible.
Due to the very dry spring of 2011, the building work was carried out in very good conditions although the general state of the substrate was very poor. For this reason tenders were accepted for liming the areas of the field segment, running track and paths were limed. Great value was put on limiting the amount of dust produced during this work in order not to dirty the new gymnasium façade. After installation of the new draining pipes the two adjoining areas of the turf pitch were recovered with 1-metre wide strips of turfbuilder.
Progress of the building work was hampered slightly due to long-planned event dates such as a football tournament on the grass pitch and the fact that the date of the inauguration ceremony was brought forward. The building work needed to be completed as far as possible before the football tournament so that there was no danger of injury to players or spectators. This was ensured by the building company Rundel and the planners.
All building work was finished according to plan on July 15, 2011, so that the inauguration ceremony could be held as planned to everyone's satisfaction on the following Saturday.
The logistics of the whole project were rather difficult due to the over-lapping building sections, the many single components of the overall Westerbach sports facilities building plan as well as the very limited space. The individual planning companies as well as the project leaders, Bau Real from Darmstadt, all contributed to accomplish the overall very success result.
More information about his and other projects of the offices S. Lukowski + Partner can be found at www.SL-plan.de.
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