The North Atlantic House “sailed” nowhere
Beth Werner
With leak proofing, damage was limited to half a bucket of water
Total contractor: Hans Jørgensen & Søn Entreprenører A/S | Architect: Isager Arkitekter and Cornelius and Vöge | Client advisor: NIRAS | Consulting engineer: Grontmij
Jan, hurry up and come, there is water running out on the floor of the restaurant.
Jan Grøn, service manager at the North Atlantic House at the Port of Odense, dropped what he had in his hands and rushed down to the restaurant after receiving a call from the staff. That’s right, water was leaking onto the floor from one of the radiators.
– It wasn’t a huge amount, maybe four or five liters, which the staff had largely cleaned up by the time I got there, explains Jan Grøn.
Next stop was the technical room in the basement of the house. A trip that involved running.
– I was somewhat excited when I opened the door to the technical room. Did the floor float in water, or?
The leakproofing worked perfectly
– No, everything was bone dry. The alarm on the leak protection of the district heating installation was flashing and the electronically controlled shut-off valves had shut off the water flow in the district heating pipes, Jan Grøn explains and adds:
– The leakproofing was fully effective in preventing water damage with potentially large and costly consequences.
New construction is not a guarantee
Worn and semi-permeable water and district heating pipes with an almost built-in guarantee of leaks often characterize older or old buildings. This is an ideal place to install leakage protection systems.
The leak in the North Atlantic House, which is only three years old, shows that even in new buildings it is a good idea to install leak protection.
Nordatlantisk Hus was born with leak protection, and according to Jan Grøn, this has been both a good and correct decision on the part of the client.
The cause of the leak that afternoon in early October turned out to be a faulty coupling between the district heating pipe and the radiator.
Four separate supply systems
To prevent damage in the 3000 sqm building from affecting the whole house, the water and district heating system is divided into four strings, each with its own closed water and heating circuit.
The four strings supply the building’s restaurant, administration, meeting rooms and shop respectively. DanTaet Leakproofing is installed on each string. So far on the district heating system, but after the current damage, the North Atlantic House Foundation, which owns and operates the building, is considering installing leak protection on the domestic water systems.
70,000 visited the house last year
The three-year-old North Atlantic House is a visible platform for Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Iceland with its wide range of exhibitions, lectures and concerts by artists from the three countries. There is also a restaurant and a shop selling North Atlantic design and crafts. In addition, the Greenlandic House in Odense is based in the house, and the three North Atlantic associations have office and meeting facilities in the North Atlantic meeting place, as the house is also known.
Finally, the 3000 sqm building also includes 25 youth housing units.
In its short lifespan, the house has become a big draw for visitors. Last year, no fewer than 70,000 people visited the window to the North Atlantic.
Good security in everyday life
With the large number of visitors, it is important that the North Atlantic House is safe and secure, according to Jan Grøn.
-“That safety and security is right here,” he says, pointing to the four leakage protection systems on the wall.
– When the accident happened, it was a really good experience to see the the leakage protection system work completely as it should, says service manager Jan Grøn.
