One of Europe’s largest shopping centres, the Dolce Vita Tejo in Portugal, will utilise Uponor’s underfloor radiant cooling technology.

The 423,000 square-metre shopping centre, to be completed in the vicinity of Lisbon in May 2009, house 300 shops and 9,000 parking spaces.

The Dolce Vita Tejo, designed for both shopping and social interaction and leisure activities, comply with the latest European shopping centre trends.

For instance, a theme park for families has been built in the interior of the shopping mall.

The developer of Dolce Vita Tejo, the multinational real estate development company Chamartin Inmobiliaria, is investing in solutions complying with sustainable development principles, influencing energy efficiency and the consumption of primary energy in particular, both via architectural and technical solutions.

The shopping centre utilises natural light actively: the roof of the building has been constructed of material that filters the sun’s ultraviolet light, but retains the sun’s brightness, enabling the reduction of electricity-consuming illumination.

For instance, the bubble-shaped swimming stadium of the Beijing Olympics was made of the same material.

The warming effects of solar light is compensated for using Uponor’s underfloor radiant cooling. In a vast space, indoor climate would normally be difficult to manage with a traditional air-conditioning system.

 However, since the cooling radiates via the floor, pleasant temperatures can be maintained in the very space where people move, i.e. up to a height of approximately 2.5 metres. The floor temperature will remain at approximately 19-20 degrees Celsius at all times. Uponor’s underfloor cooling system will help achieve considerable savings in energy consumption.

Uponor developed radiant cooling in mid-1990s, and introduced it first to the German market. There has been a growing interest towards this new energy-saving technology all over the world. One of Uponor’s best known references is the international airport in Bangkok.