Gerber Shopping Center in Stuttgart
A new German shopping centre with an eye on environmental sustainability.
Inaugurated in 2014, GERBER is a large complex in Stuttgart and is divided into offices, apartments and 25,000 m2 dedicated exclusively to shopping.
The three-storey structure is located in the centre of the city and has around 90 shops and several restaurants arranged along its wide corridors and parking space for 650 cars and 200 bicycles.
Constructed using only quality materials and according to eco-sustainable principles, GERBER has applied for DGNB certification, one of the various environmental certification protocols that indicate a construction’s precise impact on the environment. The German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB-Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen e.V.) is similar to the more widely known LEED and BREEAM protocols.
It adopts European standards and places more emphasis on analysing the life cycle of materials and their costs, by also taking into consideration economic and social-cultural aspects. The products used to install the hexagonal porcelain tiles along the corridors (surface area 5,500 m2), therefore, were a very important choice, and the installation bed was initially treated with PRIMER G synthetic resin-based primer in water dispersion. The surfaces were then levelled with ULTRAPLAN MAXI self-levelling smoothing and levelling mortar, characterised by its ultra-rapid hardening properties. ULTRALITE S1 one-component, high performance adhesive was used to bond the tiles and KERACOLOR FL-S quick-drying mortar – specifically developed by Mapei GmbH, the German subsidiary of the Mapei Group – was used to fill the grout lines, to provide a high level of protection against dirt and excellent waterproofing properties. GERBER was chosen as Retail Project of the Year at the London Lighting Design Awards and Architizer nominated GERBER for the prestigious international A+Awards competition.
