Reinventing the old with renovation
Demolish, rebuild, renovate, or refurbish? Uponor supplies systems for all renovation purposes.
Reinventing the old with renovation
Demolish, rebuild, renovate, or refurbish? Repurposing old buildings is an option with many advantages – especially for historical buildings that were previously used for a different purpose. Uponor radiant heating and cooling, drinking water supply, and room temperature control solutions by GF are in use in various projects that reinvent and repurpose the old.
Converting old buildings requires creativity. Repurposing buildings instead of just renovating or modernizing them often creates unique structures: buildings that retain their former character, making them particularly special. However, converting old buildings also has other advantages. For example, this approach minimizes the need for new building materials, conserving resources and reducing emissions caused by their production. At the same time, less non-recyclable waste is produced. Conversion is also interesting for building owners for cost reasons, as the construction costs for a conversion can be significantly lower than for new buildings. No new building site is required, and, in most cases, fewer building materials are needed because the building shell can still be used.
Authorities are aware of the advantages and often approve conversions more quickly than new builds. With the “Energy Performance of Buildings Directive” (EPBD), the EU has defined that the national average primary energy consumption for the residential building stock should decrease by 16 percent until 2030 and by 20 to 22 percent until 20351. In addition, some countries offer subsidies or tax breaks to make conversion even more attractive. However, the demands on the interior fit-out trades are high for such specialized projects.
With its wide range of flow solutions for buildings, GF provides support as a partner in HVAC planning. “At GF, we are very familiar with the advantages of converting existing buildings and are involved in exciting projects,” says Torsten Meier, Chief Innovation Officer, GF Building Flow Solutions. “As a long-standing partner in renovations and refurbishments of all kinds, we offer a wide range of products and comprehensive solutions that suit many different applications and needs.”
The following examples illustrate how reinventing the old is possible with the right products.
1 European Commission: Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, (14.07.2025)
Taking a vacation at a train station – with usage of underfloor heating
Spend the night on your vacation in an old railway station building? This is possible at the Ferienbahnhof Reichenbach in Dahn-Reichenbach (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). The design hotel with the character of a railroad station opened its doors in 2023. Its history, however, started as early as 1913, when the train station was built to take visitors on Sundays to destinations along the railroad between the cities of Ludwigshafen and Pirmasens. The ‘Sunday’ train was cancelled in 1976 and put back into service in 1997. In the meantime, the Dahn-Reichenbach railroad station was transformed into a restaurant in the 1980s – and a design hotel in 2016. Since then, the building and three historic railroad cars have been transformed into 20 rooms with bathrooms, a Swiss pine sauna with an enclosed relaxation area complementing the existing restaurant.
The hotel is equipped with the easy-to-install Uponor Klett underfloor heating system to keep the guests’ feet warm all year round. In total, specialist tradesmen laid 9,000 meters (29,500 feet) of pipes in an area of more than 850 square meters (9,150 square feet). In addition, 1,200 meters (3,940 feet) of Uponor Uni Pipe PLUS pipes were used to ensure perfect drinking water hygiene.
At the Ferienbahnhof Reichenbach, you can spend your vacation in an old station building.
Interior designer Cristina Rodríguez bought Villa Mayfair and renovated it in three years together with engineering firm PGI Engineering and over 150 creatives/artists. The villa now serves as a showhouse and event location where GF products ensure a comfortable indoor climate.
From private home to creative hub – the rebirth of Villa Mayfair
Villa Mayfair, once a private home located in Barcelona, is now a stage for designers, artists, and brands. Architect Enric Sagnier designed the four-storey Art Nouveau building in 1910 and the Bertrand-Cinnamond industrialist family lived in it until 2015. Then, interior designer Cristina Rodríguez bought the building and renovated it in three years together with engineering firm PGI Engineering and over 150 creatives/artists. The villa now serves as a showhouse and event location. GF products ensure a comfortable indoor climate: 540 square meters (5,812 square feet) of Uponor Klett panel heating in the basement, ground floor and first floor and the 15 mm (minimum height) Uponor Minitec system
in the attic. Both solutions distribute heat quickly, evenly and in an energy-saving manner. Listed building protection dictated the rules. The façade and building volume remained unchanged. New features include a glazed hall extension, a tunnel under the main façade, and an elevator.
Luxury in the water tower — the first plus-energy high-rise building in Germany
Relaxing with a view of Lake Constance and the Swiss Alps in a luxurious yet energy-efficient environment: this is possible in the plus-energy aquaTurm design hotel in Radolfzell (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany). The former water tower was turned into a design hotel during renovations in 2017. Since then, the Uponor Smatrix Base solution for heating and cooling has ensured pleasant temperatures in summer and winter. Equipped with a cooling function as standard which can switch between the different modes by an external signal, Uponor Smatrix Base was installed on each floor of the hotel. When cooling is required, the regulation provides reliable protection against dropping beneath the dew point in order to avoid any damage being caused to the construction materials by condensation. In addition, the intelligent auto-balancing function regularly adjusts the mass flux in each heating circuit to the changes in the system or in each room. In this way, consistent ground temperatures, quick response times and a high level of energy efficiency are all guaranteed.
The Uponor Klett underfloor heating system provides energy-efficient radiant heat in the hotel rooms and the breakfast area, allowing for quick and easy one-person installation and optimized control options. Durable panels can withstand the high pressure loads that are common in a hotel and also ensure optimum stability and impact resistance.
The former water tower located at the Lake Constance was turned into a design hotel during renovations in 2017. With this, the building was converted into the first plus-energy high-rise building in Germany.
The previous railway station now offers space for a social center and 13 apartments.
Living in the railway station
Once used for travel, the entire railway station site in Bad Salzungen, (Thuringia, Germany) has been turned into a cozy place to stay long-term: the area consisting of the station building (built in 1858), a historic water tower, and a pavilion with open spaces, has been redesigned and now provides space for a social centre in the basement and 13 flats on the upper floors. The building is connected to a district heating network, and heat is distributed to the individual residential units via individual decentralized hydraulic flat stations and a combination of different systems for surface heating and cooling. The decentralized flat stations heat the drinking water when it is needed, making hot water tanks and circulation pipes no longer necessary. This is the ideal solution in terms of hygiene and energy efficiency, reducing energy consumption by up to 40 per cent. This is also part of a larger sustainability strategy: with its portfolio of energy-efficient products, value-added services, and system-focused solutions, GF is set to enable sustainable building practices for its customers.
The surface heating and cooling on the individual floors is provided by various systems. In the social center, Uponor Klett underfloor heating was easy to install without losing much living space thanks to the high ceilings. On the upper floors with solid concrete ceilings, near-surface component activation with the Uponor Contec ON system was particularly suitable. The wooden ceilings in the attic were a perfect match for the Uponor Renovis drywall system. Thanks to its drywall method and modular design, this is ideal for energy-efficient (partial) renovations. The system can be installed on almost all ceiling substrates.
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