Customer parking lots at supermarkets and shopping centers create a mosaic of sounds—slamming doors, shopping carts, engines starting, and delivery traffic—each of which is inconspicuous on its own but, taken together, becomes a persistent issue near residential areas. Early-morning deliveries and late-evening customer traffic further extend these critical periods. We enclose parking areas, shopping cart storage areas, and delivery zones with green, highly absorbent noise barriers that absorb sound while simultaneously framing the property with greenery. The vegetation at the base of the walls traps particulate matter from parking lot traffic and requires no irrigation over the long term. From our base in Kaufbeuren, we design, manufacture, and install these systems—for individual stores as well as for retail chains with multiple locations.
Slamming doors, shopping carts, deliveries—a constant hum of noise at the border
Impulse noises, such as doors slamming and the rattling of shopping carts, have a greater impact on the number of complaints at retail locations than the average noise level would suggest. According to the Technical Instructions on Noise (TA Lärm), the overall situation is assessed at the relevant exposure points, meaning that parking traffic, shopping cart areas, and delivery traffic must be considered together. Erecting walls along the property line adjacent to residential areas and around the delivery zone reduces noise levels in areas where there is resistance to expansions or extended operating hours. At the same time, retail properties depend on their visual appeal, which is why we consistently incorporate greenery into wall surfaces; our overview of greened noise barrier systems describes which plants are suitable and how the vegetation develops over the years. The systems are typically filled with locally sourced soil and mineral raw materials, ensuring they maintain their volume and remain durable, even with heavy parking traffic along the wall. Collision protection along rows of parking spaces and sightlines for pedestrians are incorporated into the layout planning, as are the paths for shopping carts between parking bays and the entrance. The parking lot’s lighting is also taken into account when determining the layout to ensure there are no dark corners.
Green Framework for Retail Locations
Retail companies report on sustainability, and their own property allows customers to experience this commitment firsthand. An eco-friendly noise barrier from the RAU system combines noise reduction for the neighborhood with fine dust filtration and a green appearance facing the street. The RAU Klimawand R3 features a Climate Handprint, whose carbon footprint has been verified by KlimAktiv—emissions from raw materials, production, transportation, and construction are offset within a few years by the emissions captured by the greenery. On compact lots, RAU Rock Extensiv secures the wall route with a minimum width of 13 cm without taking up parking spaces. Retail chains benefit from repeatable details across multiple locations—from the bid specifications to the planting plan—which we provide in full. Upon completion, our service teams will, upon request, take over the periodic maintenance of the outdoor areas; the low-maintenance extensive construction method keeps the wall’s operating costs low. Construction is carried out entirely by RAU or provided as a kit for the operator’s construction partner—depending on how the location is organized.
