overcoming gravity
KTM, Europe’s leading motorcycle manufacturer, has built a unique exhibition and adventure centre in its native town of Mattighofen in Upper Austria. The circular metal construction, designed to resemble a tyre track, soars above this imposing structure like a bold architectural exclamation mark. It symbolises the dynamics of the now world-famous company. Just as modern as the building design – but a lot less conspicuous – our concealed AIRCONOMY® system ensures pleasant room temperatures and an optimal supply of fresh air all year round in the KTM Motohall..
At the heart of the town of Mattighofen on a 10,000 m² site stands a unique interactive exhibition: the KTM Motohall, situated only a few steps away from the first workshop of the company’s founder, Hans Trunkenpolz. The KTM Motohall offers visitors an unforgettable experience: it is packed with displays and information about motorcycle heroes, their machines and adventures, history, innovations, engineering and technology of the motorcycle and the KTM name.
INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE FOR MOTORSPORT FANS
In addition to showcasing the brand’s impressive heritage in motorcycling culture in the region, KTM Motohall focuses primarily on the thrill of modern motorcycles. The interactive exhibition takes visitors through three levels, showing the design process of a motorbike from initial sketch to finished product, with animations illustrating intricate technical details. Street and off-road bikes compete in a race on a replica of a steep curve, which leads up to the highlight of the exhibition: the “Heroes Area”, where visitors meet the most daring and successful KTM riders of all time while immersing themselves in the KTM world in a spectacular 120-meter, 360-degree video. Motorcycle and restoration enthusiasts can watch the elaborate restoration and maintenance processes for classic bikes in the live workshop in the basement of the KTM Motohall. Another highlight is the 300 m² KTM Shop, where fans can find a wide choice of attractive items, including fashion and accessories. KTM Motohall presents the entire universe of the race brand KTM in a similar style to that adopted by some of the most coveted car brands. Studio Brückner – the renowned creative minds behind the BMW Welt and the Porsche Museum – were responsible for the interior design and concept of the KTM Motohall exhibition. The Stuttgart presentation experts worked their magic on a total floor area of 2,600 m² which includes over 100 exhibits, installations, video technology and a motorcycle course.
DYNAMIC ARCHITECTURE
The spectacular exhibition centre was realised by a team of architects from Upper Austria, consisting of Hofbauer Liebmann Wimmesberger Architekten (Wels) in cooperation with X architekten (Linz). The basic body of the reinforced concrete structure is formed by two overlapping ellipses, each inclined at an angle of four degrees, evoking the appearance and dynamics of a motocross track. Visitors navigate through the building on loops and ramps without having to use stairs or elevators. Nine cores, covered with perforated sheets, house the building’s mechanical services. In between, wide open spaces open up to the surrounding views and for natural ventilation. The theme “dynamics” is also reflected in the facade: the building is wrapped with three ribbons of anodised aluminium, which allow visitors to move around the KTM Motohall. The metal bands are perforated, symbolizing tyre impressions that have overcome gravity.
INVISIBLE BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
To give visitors and employees of KTM Motohall a comfortable indoor climate all year round, an underfloor heating system in combination with component cooling and a demand-controlled ventilation system was installed. “The planning challenge was the unique design of the KTM Motohall, for instance the oval building and the floors that slope in opposite directions in the exhibition area”, explains Ernst Grillenberger of the engineering firm Ing. Grillenberger GmbH & Co. KG. “In addition, the client wanted the building technology to be as invisible and silent as possible, i.e. the brief was that they should disappear completely within the floor construction, thus necessitating a system that is very hardwearing and resistant to footfall.” AIRCONOMY®, our compact complete system for heating, ventilation and cooling, complied with all these requirements, making it the ideal solution.
AIRCONOMY® combines hot water underfloor heating with a controlled ventilation system with heat recovery. The complete system was installed on a total area of 3,500 m² in KTM Motohall in the exhibition space, the entrance area, the KTM shop, in the basement of the Innovation Lab and the live workshop. “Three men installed 500 m² of floor ventilation ducts per week, followed by the installation of the underfloor heating”, says project technician Mario Reingruber of MOLIN Industrie - Inbetriebnahme & Montage GmbH. & Co. KG. “Installing the ventilation ducts on the slopes was the main challenge”, explains Reingruber, referring to the unusual architecture of KTM Motohall. The air ducts were integrated into the underfloor heating; the fresh air flows under the heating pipes. Then, thanks to the low air volume flow (up to 18,000 m³ / h depending on requirements), it enters the exhibition area without draughts through practically invisible outlets in the floor. The AIRCONOMY® system module also serves as a heat exchanger and brings the fresh air exactly to the desired room temperature. The integrated heat recovery system has an efficiency of over 90 percent. This means that used, polluted room air is permanently exchanged. “Even excess humidity is reliably discharged outside and prevents structural damage caused by moisture and mould”, says Grillenberger. Our filter technology also ensures that pollen and dust do not enter the building.
OPTIMUM INDOOR CLIMATE ALL YEAR ROUND
AIRCONOMY® also has an integrated cooling function, which makes the additional installation of an air conditioning system unnecessary. Components and ventilation systems are cooled with well water. Any additional cooling energy required is fed into the system via a 4-duct heat pump. The building is also heated by this, which obtains the required energy from well water and therefore has a very low power requirement. Our proven AIRCONOMY® system ensures an even temperature distribution in the rooms. This means that visitors and employees benefit from a pleasant indoor climate throughout the year. As an additional benefit, AIRCONOMY® does not require additional sound insulation in the supply air duct network and therefore saves additional space. In the standard configuration, the transmission loss is around 40 decibels, as has been confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart. The AIRCONOMY® system module insulates all noise in the KTM Motohall – from airflow and fan noise to conversations and the noise of excited children.
“In terms of comfort, the feedback from the building owners has been very good”, says Grillenberger. “With AIRCONOMY®, the technology is invisible, but the function meets the highest standards of comfort.” This way the visitors can fully immerse themselves in the READY TO RACE feeling – without any distraction.
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