Successful Collaboration – From Technical Maintenance to a Prestigious Green Certification

Forus‘ Over 10-Year Partnership with Viru Keskus – From Technical Maintenance to a Prestigious Green Certification.

Forus, a company committed to contributing to a safe and sustainable society, supports many shopping centers daily, including Viru Keskus, which is the most visited shopping and entertainment center in Estonia. Forus has been responsible for all technical systems for over ten years, performing electrical work and maintenance. Additionally, the company has assisted with LEED certification processes and renovation works for rental spaces.

The Viru Keskus building is over 20 years old. Between 2021 and 2023, the center underwent a thorough renovation. The shopping center continually invests in more energy-efficient and smarter technologies. This not only helps them remain competitive in the market but also creates better conditions for their tenants and a pleasant environment for visitors. Forus plays a significant role in this process.

“As systems become increasingly modern, we as a maintenance partner must stay continuously updated on trends and enhance our knowledge and skills,” emphasizes Forus’s technical manager, Venno Press.

Press has been the technical manager for Forus at the center for nine years and is familiar with nearly every corner of the building. Among other responsibilities, he helps devise various technical solutions, assists with the remodeling of rental spaces, and deals with ongoing malfunctions and emergencies. The scope of work is broad.

If a new tenant is coming to the rental space, or if someone wishes to expand or change their space, Press also oversees new ventilation and cooling system solutions. Forus’s electricians are also ready to help.

“Every store is unique, and everyone wants their solutions and designs. Often, these solutions do not align with the previous tenant’s concept, and that’s where we come in,” he explains.

Maintenance of Heating Systems During the Winter Period

In the summer, it is essential to ensure that visitors and employees of the center do not get too hot due to warm weather, while in the current winter period, the opposite is true—people must not be cold. The more extreme the weather conditions, the harder the systems must work, and they tend to go into alarm mode from time to time. Here, Forus’s role is to quickly resolve any issues to ensure the best environment for the center’s visitors.

Whether water is dripping, lights are out, or ventilation is not functioning—these problems require prompt responses.

This autumn, the weather has been mild. According to Press, the heating period and sub-zero temperatures present the greatest challenges. There is always the risk that pipes can freeze in cold weather and something may freeze in the heating system. This is typical for both larger and smaller buildings, and the technicians are prepared for it and are familiar with the unique characteristics of the property.

The First LEED Certified Shopping Center in Estonia

Sustainability is a key consideration for the shopping center when making investments. The owners are constantly thinking of ways to increase the value of their property. About ten years ago, this led to the discussion of applying for a LEED certification—something that was already widely implemented in many countries. Viru Keskus became the first in Estonia to obtain the international LEED Silver certification for the environmentally friendly and sustainable operation of an existing building. Over the years, the center has continually elevated its standards and has now achieved the highest LEED Platinum level.

LEED is a comprehensive system. A building, whether in development or already existing, is evaluated across its entire lifecycle in various categories. One of the key factors is energy usage—heating, cooling, and electricity consumption of the building.

Forus provided guidance on the requirements for different levels of green certification related to technical systems and their reconstruction. This knowledge was handed over to the designers before the major renovation took place, ultimately leading to the implementation of energy-efficient technical systems.

In the LEED certification process, the shopping center has also set an example in energy management. Innovative and efficient heating and cooling systems are in use within the center. Thanks to smart systems, residual heat and surplus cooling can be collected from within the building.

“We have, so to speak, a pot in the building where we gather everything together and distribute the surplus where it is needed. When we have excess residual heat, we do not purchase expensive heating from the service provider, but can produce it ourselves at three times lower cost,” explains Margus Kolumbus, the maintenance director of Viru Keskus.

Kolumbus is pleased that the center has managed to keep tenants’ overall costs at the same level for the past ten years thanks to these energy-efficient solutions.

Like many other Forus properties, Viru Keskus utilizes a solution from the Estonian technology company R8. Along with the Building Management System (BMS), it monitors nearly 22,000 points within the center and the interaction of the main systems. These systems react constantly to factors such as indoor and outdoor temperatures, electricity prices, indoor carbon concentration, space occupancy, and many others.

“In addition to saving on energy costs, the point is that everything happening in the building can be seen on screens through smart programs—if there is an alarm or a fault somewhere, we can quickly identify it,” explains Kolumbus.

A Challenging Site

Margus Kolumbus believes that Viru Keskus is a very complex site for a technology partner, and there are plenty of challenges. He assures that Forus has managed well with its work over the years.

The complexity arises because the center is made up of two properties—Viru Square 4 and 6. They have different technical systems, and in addition to the shopping center area, one property includes a 120-apartment building, while the other has a hotel with more than five hundred rooms.

“Viru Keskus is built next to the hotel, and the systems have been extended from there. In operating these systems, it is essential to consider that the hotel is active at night,” he concludes.

Recent Major Projects

Forus is responsible for all high-voltage and various electrical works at Viru Keskus, including troubleshooting, construction work, and electrical maintenance. 

This autumn, Forus’s electricians completed the company’s largest electrical project at Viru Keskus, which involved the installation of a new cable network for electric vehicle chargers. The construction significantly increased the capability for electric vehicle charging. The project was complicated by a complex technical solution and its financial cost. The electric vehicle chargers required a total power supply of 1600A, which is a considerable amount of consumption.

Therefore, it was essential to ensure that the creation of the charging network did not overload the systems, which could jeopardize the safety of the center and its visitors. Following the successful expansion of the cable network, there are now 31 charging spots for electric vehicles on the IV floor of the Viru Keskus parking garage, with an additional 20 charging spots expected to be added by next spring.

Currently, Forus is engaged in a major project involving the modernization of technical systems, specifically the replacement of ventilation system units—system motors are being replaced with more energy-efficient alternatives. This will improve the indoor climate of the center and help reduce costs.

The center is continually evolving and presenting challenges. Thus, Forus encounters larger or smaller tasks daily.

In addition to Viru Keskus, Forus serves as a technology partner for many other large shopping centers in Estonia, including Solaris, Tallinna Kaubamaja, Foorum, and Mustamäe Keskus, among others.

Forus provides comprehensive maintenance services for technical systems. This means there is a thorough daily overview of the operations for heating, ventilation, cooling, water, sewage, and electrical systems.

The article has been published in Äripäev.