LORO-X Cascading and High-Rise Drainage at the EDGE East Side Tower Berlin

A building measuring 140 metres in height demands exceptional drainage solutions. The challenge was even greater at the EDGE East Side Tower, Berlin: here, offset setbacks add further complexity. To discharge the water safely, the engineering firm LESH worked with LORO specialists to develop custom-designed solutions. On the terraces, a space-saving cascading drainage system with retention now ensures reliable discharge – a special construction, just like the drainage of the vertical surfaces that keeps the terraces free from facade water. 

The new building ("Amazon Tower") impresses with its unusual geometry: the 140-metre-high office building, designed by "BIG Bjarke Ingels Group", breaks up the smooth, static facade composition with inserts and setbacks.

Draining rainwater: Two systems for facade and terraces 
 

The water flows via gravity drainage in a cascading pattern from the upper to the lower levels. To prevent the pipes from being overloaded during heavy rainfall, additional retention units are installed. Thanks to the solution with a LORO main-emergency combined drain (custom-made for the EDGE Tower), a single riser per drainage route across all levels is sufficient. This keeps the space requirement low. 

Through the retention system, the emergency drainage is also ensured, as only the maximum permissible volume flows into the main drainage. Since drainage onto an open surface is not possible, a collection basin (135 m³) is located beneath the tower. With this special solution, the drainage across all levels is achieved safely and with minimal space requirements. The rainfall calculation for the terraces was based on the projected surface area.

Facade 

Precipitation running from the facade onto the terraces must therefore be discharged separately. For this purpose, small drains (LORO-X DRAINJET mini drains) were installed above the terraces, directing the water from outside to inside – as siphonic drainage. This keeps the waste pipes slender relative to the water volume. Nevertheless, the system impresses by its sheer scale:

Three six-way branches and eight three-way branches in DN 150 and DN 200 respectively ensure via four belts that precipitation reaches the sewer system. The two systems are independent of each other. 

The high-rise building meets the DGNB Platinum standard.