INTERNATIONAL PROJECT
FFourr FFrraankkffurrtt PPrrojjeecctt
Trevi faced and won the challenge of carrying out all
the foundation works in a rather complex context
Four Frankfurt is a unique high-rise building in
the heart of Frankfurt's city centre in Germany.
Thanks to its purchase in 2015, Groß & Partner
Grundstücksentwicklungsgesellschaft laid the foundations
for the execution of this mega-project.
This building development includes four new high-rise
buildings on a multi-level and multifunctional construction
foundation. Thanks to the development’s 228-metre-high
office tower, the building is the highest office space in
Germany and, with its slightly shorter 173-metre-high tower,
the development also touts the highest residential tower
in Germany. Parts of the existing buildings will be kept to
comply with historical preservation requirements and will be
integrated into the new construction.
Due to the simultaneous execution of the work in all areas
and the relevant logistical needs, which add to the enormous
pressure set by the time limit, one of the main challenges
of the construction process concerns its position in the
city centre.
The four towers of the Four Frankfurt Project are supported
by a base slab and its perimetral walls. Due to space
restrictions, the client decided to build the basements using
the top-down construction method. This means that, at
first, the diaphragm wall and the foundation piles are constructed
and then the concrete slab is poured to form the first
basement floor.
Subsequently, excavation works take place under that
cover and the other basements floors are built in the same way
while construction of the building can start simultaneously.
Since the distance between the opposite walls of the
perimeter would span over 100 metres, prefabricated columns
were positioned into the piles to support the slabs.
The structural loads of the above-ground structures and of
the slabs are directly supported by the construction piles
through the columns.
The foundation and excavation protection enclosure are
carried out using the diaphragm wall method. In this case,
two different methods are used.
Submitted by Trevi Group
PHOTOS: TREVI GROUP
PILING CANADA 41