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Attractive arcades

B. Build & Trade Kft., Budapest

Linear and airy, modern and classic at the same time: during the construction of a new market hall in Pécs, Hungary, MEP shoring tower vouched for safety and stability and Mammut 350 impressed with its symmetrical tie and joint pattern.


The Goal

New eye-catcher in Pécs: a market hall with immaculate surfaces.
Hungary’s fifth-largest city, Pécs, witnessed the completion of the structural works for a new market hall, a blend of modern and classical architecture, lightweight and linear, featuring long sequences of arches.

 


The Project

Summary:
The attractive newbuild is exceptional in more ways than one: apart from impressing with bright architecture and colossal arches, it was constructed with eco-efficient concrete. It is occupying a 1,750 m² footprint and replaces the old market hall. The new building consists of two times eleven smaller arches, on the long sides with a clear width of 8.10 m each. At a 90-degree angle to it are two outer and twelve inner, even larger arcades with a clear span of 13.60 metres, and lend the interior an airy feel. While the curved openings give the impression of having simply been cut out of the expansive wall surfaces, their creation demanded in-depth design and construction expertise.

 

Challenges:
High quality concrete surfaces and the use of environmentally friendly concrete were required. The assembly times were to be kept short in order not to risk any delays. The biggest challenge, however, was the reliable support of two semi-circular steel-mesh brackets, 13.60 m and 8.10 m wide respectively placed exactly between the top edges of the precast-concrete piers at a height of 4 m.


The Solution

  1. High loads and wind pressure

    The modular MEP shoring tower vouched for safety and stability, as it was easily able to carry the weight of the steel-mesh brackets, formwork and concreted walls. The versatility offered by the differently sized MEP frames and flexible vertical adjustment enabled the B. Build team to precision-align the various assemblies in accordance with the building geometry. As the system consists of only a few basic components, it is quick and easy to put together, without creating any dense “forests” of props. The workers thus enjoyed ample room to manoeuvre. The 13 m tall formwork assemblies were effortlessly stabilised against wind pressure and other loads by the modular Triplex braces.

  2. Aesthetic concrete finish
    One particular feature of the Mammut 350 system turned out to be a real blessing on this project: the symmetrical tie hole and joint pattern of the formwork panels, whether placed horizontally or vertically, allowed the concrete surfaces to be designed in line with aesthetic criteria. Throughout the construction period, the alkus all-plastic facings, fitted as standard, guaranteed the creation of homogeneous architectural concrete finishes to all the walls. Moreover, the simplicity of cleaning and patching the alkus facings proved a real time-saver on site.

    The arcade building’s large concrete surfaces, including two of the big internal arches, were cast with expansion joints in order to prevent stress cracking due to the varying expansion properties of the materials in the filigree assembly. As a further precaution, the deployed concrete incorporated a special cement supplied by Lafarge as a binder, which reduces the proneness to cracking of structural concrete.


The Outcome

To speed up site operations and thereby cut construction costs, the scheme in southern Hungary made provision for early stripping. In addition, the cement from the Lafarge factory in Királyegyháza is more eco-efficient than other binders as it is produced by a process involving up to 40% lower carbon dioxide emissions due to a reduced proportion of clinker. This, together with the use of the durable, resource-efficient and wood-free alkus facings on the Pécs market hall project, is fully in keeping with Hungary’s “Build Greener” campaign.


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Client:
B. Build & Trade Kft., Budapest (HU)

Shell construction:
Tura Group

Project:
Pécs market hall

Location:
Pécs, Hungary

Formwork Engineering:
MEVA Zsalurendszerek Zrt., Budapest (HU)


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