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There’s a lot going on in the Fahrwerk

Contractor: Marti AG, Zürich

In the Swiss town of Winterthur the building shell has been completed for a commercial complex with upper storeys that are accessible for vehicles. The construction of the approximately 20 m high round spiral walls and additional concrete construction work was realised with aplomb by MEVA using series and special formwork as well as climbing brackets.


Commercial building and spiral walls completed on time by Marti AG

The commercial building Fahrwerk, a commercial building with more than 10,500 m² of rental space enables comfortable transport of goods by car, even to the upper storeys. The building has a 3.05 m high underground garage and a 5 m high ground floor. Above this, three further levels – 4 to 4.18 m high – offer additional space for large businesses. Including the attic storey, the building has an overall height of more than 20 metres.

 

Spiral walls an all-round success
The upper storeys are accessible for vehicles via spiral access and exit ramps. The access ramp is at the north end of the building and the exit ramp at the south end. Both ramps comprise a cylindrical spiral core with an outside diameter of 10.40 m (inside diameter 9.80 m). The steel-reinforced concrete cores form the backbone of the access and exit ramps whose driving lanes spiral upwards around the core like a snail’s shell.

To ensure efficient construction progress, the spiral cores were completely climbed before the access and exit ramps were attached to the round walls by means of rebars with screw connections. The experienced Marti team led by construction manager Andreas Ganz and foreman Cruz Alves José used the circular formwork Radius in the lower section of the spiral exit ramp. It can be adjusted steplessly and precisely to within a centimetre for radii above 250 cm. MEVA Switzerland had delivered 74 m² of this rental formwork to the construction site in Winterthur.

In the upper sections of the concrete cores, the screw connections for the rebars had to factored in and embedded in the concrete wall. In view of the bores required for this, it was not possible to use Radius circular formwork with its steel facing. Hence, in order to be able to prepare the connection rebars appropriately, special wooden formwork was used.

 

The screw connections for the rebars were embedded in the concrete.

 

Special formwork used sixteen times
The special formwork planned by the MEVA specialists consisted of two wooden panels – 4.25 m high and designed so that each panel could be used to pour a semicircular wall with a height of approximately 4 m. To reach the upper storey, each formwork was used four times on top of each other, i.e. eight semicircular wall sections had to be poured for each spiral ramp. The panels were designed to withstand the loading of 16 pouring cycles for both spiral ramps without difficulty and so that the material requirements, the amount of work involved and the costs remained low. Only the 4 mm thick facings were doubled up after completion of the first spiral ramp. Additional special panels with filling nozzles were produced for the chamfered wall copings. Having completed the construction of a sample wall together with MEVA, the Marti team performed the remaining forming work on its own.

 

Solution from modular JumpForm system
The climbing processes for the special formwork were mastered using the HC JumpForm system. This MEVA solution from a clever modular system forms a bracket system and can be supplemented with a trailing platform. However, this was not necessary for this project. JumpForm is anchored in the reinforced concrete wall, which has already set, using suspension shoes and serves as a working platform for rebar, forming and concreting work and also as a supporting structure for the formwork.

During the Fahrwerk project, JumpForm was used for the first time to build round walls, adapted to suit the spiral wall without any problems and reliably combined with the special formwork.

JumpForm is anchored in the reinforced concrete wall, which has already set, using suspension shoes.

 

Safety has top priority on every construction site, and this was ensured at all times using the JumpForm working platform. The quality of the wall surfaces speaks for itself.

Andreas Ganz, construction manager, Marti AG, Zurich

 

Saving time with Mammut 350
To construct the inner and outer walls of the complex, Marti profited from the advantages of Mammut 350 formwork from its own stock. The construction company has had good experiences with the durable formwork and the easily repaired alkus all-plastic facing over the course of many years. Mammut 350 is designed for a full-surface fresh-concrete pressure of up to 100 kN/m², has large formwork panels of up to 8.75 m² (350/250) and permits high rates of placing up to a height of 4 m for short pouring cycles. The principal’s wish for a high concrete surface quality was fulfilled with aplomb, just as was the case for the round walls of the spiral ramps.

The construction company and the principal were satisfied with the progress made during the project. Andreas Ganz, the Marti AG Zurich construction manager responsible for the project: “On the construction site, formwork and working platforms played a decisive role for the success of the project. Thanks to the exact planning and the training provided by our formwork specialist on the spot, it was possible to create the spiral walls on schedule and cost-effectively. Safety has top priority on every construction site, and this was ensured at all times using the JumpForm working platform. The quality of the wall surfaces speaks for itself.”


MEVA systems:


Project:
Fahrwerk commercial building, Winterthur, Switzerland

Principal:
HIAG Immobilien AG, Zurich, Switzerland

Contractor:
Marti AG, Zurich, Switzerland

Planning:
WINTEC Engineering, Winterthur, Switzerland

Engineering and support:
MEVA Schalungs-Systeme AG, Seon, Switzerland


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