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Hegau Tower, Singen, Germany
Fast and safe forming of floor slabs
in architectural concrete quality
January 2008 - exactly one year after the start of construction - the top floor of the almost 68-metre high Hegau Towers is virtually finished so that construction work on the concrete shell itself is, to a large extent, completed. According to the schedule, the first tenants should be moving into their new offices in around six months time. The striking 18-storey complex, with its 14,500 square metres of office space, is designed to attract businesses from the region into the town of Singen am Hohentwiel thus resulting in the creation of new jobs. Restaurant and conference facilities are located in the four floors of the adjoining low-rise building as well as on the 17th top storey with its panoramic view of the town and the closely situated Lake Constance.
Through the combination of two new systems developed by PERI, the high requirements regarding quality and safety could be cost-effectively fulfilled – even when faced with a very tight construction schedule. The PERI GRIDFLEX girder grid slab formwork ensured the shortest shuttering times, maximum flexibility as well as even slab undersides - and a completely new safety concept due to the accessible grid elements. In order to be able to also work safely and efficiently at greater heights the edges of the two upper storeys were completely enclosed by means of the PERI RCS climbing protection panel.
The tower block features a 37.28 x 18.38 metre ground plan and was erected using a concrete frame construction with floor heights of 3.45 metres. Supported on circular-shaped columns, the 30-centimetre thick slabs are braced through the reinforced concrete core complete with staircase as well as installation and elevator shafts. As all structural elements – including the slab soffits – were constructed with SB 3 architectural concrete, the contractor decided in favour of the new PERI GRIDFLEX girder grid slab formwork.
The GRIDFLEX system allows a free choice of formlining. As a result, the PERI Fin-Ply sheeting was arranged using a configuration of 2.70 x 0.675 metres whilst taking into account the structure´s dimension between axes of 5.40 metres and after consultation with the architect. The close GRIDFLEX profile spacing ensured minimum deflection of the formlining and even slab soffits could therefore be produced without any time-consuming additional measures. Furthermore, the closed element grid can be safely accessed for installing the plywood without any risk of falling for site personnel.
From the outset, a high level of safety was provided with the GRIDFLEX system because the formwork elements were safely and securely hooked in from the level below and pushed upwards into position by means of the shuttering aid. Even the guardrails for the building edges could be assembled from below. In addition, the pre-determined assembly sequence and the lightweight aluminium components resulted in fast shuttering times. The extreme flexibility of the PERI GRIDFLEX system was also clearly demonstrated whereby any adjustments to the ground plan which were required, along with shuttering of columns, took place by simply telescoping the compensation and standard elements. After striking, the aluminium elements could be easily cleaned due to the powder coating. Thus, the Züblin formworking team were able to achieve consistent high quality architectural concrete surface finishes.
The PERI RCS climbing protection panel offered the highest possible level of safety at all heights during construction of the floors. Due to being in completely enclosed conditions, site personnel hardly noticed the working heights. This increased feeling of safety accelerated operational procedures and, even with wind speeds of up to 90 km/h, slabs could be efficiently formed. In addition, moving the large-sized RCS climbing units could take place independent of prevailing wind conditions because the integrated climbing rail was guided by means of climbing shoes which meant it was connected to the building at all times. As sufficient crane capacity was available, the site management decided against the use of a mobile RCS hydraulic pump which could have been retro-fitted at any time.
For construction of the Hegau Tower, a work and a first aid container, as well as a PERI UP stair tower positioned on two working platforms, were also climbed together with the RCS rail climbing system. Access to the site was provided by the stairwell which was constructed following up two floors below. Completion of the two upper storeys was carried out using a combination of PERI UP and RCS. This meant that temporary staircase facilities were not required.
VARIO GT 24 girder wall formwork on KG climbing brackets and BR shaft platforms for the building core as well as the RUNDFLEX circular formwork from the broad range of PERI equipment and systems, rounded off the comprehensive PERI formwork and scaffolding concept and thus provided an optimal solution without exception for each requirement.
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| PERI Systems In Use |
RCS P Climbing Protection Panel
GRIDFLEX Aluminium Grid Slab Formwork
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| Contractor: |
Ed. Züblin AG, Stuttgart |
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Field Service:
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PERI GmbH, Deutschland
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