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| The Saturn Tower's structure shell is already a most imposing sight. Many different Doka formwork systems are in action here. |
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Using the self-climbing Doka platform SCP, the structure shell of the Saturn Tower in Vienna's Donaucity district was built in record time.
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The 23 storeys of the Saturn Tower, each with around 1400 m2 of floor-space, will house state-of-the-art offices. The tower is to be crowned by a 385 m2 sky-lobby and a top-floor terrace. The 5 basement levels contain parking spaces for 330 cars.
Designed by the well-known Austrian architect Hans Hollein, the building has numerous recesses and oriel elements in the façade. While giving the tower extraordinary visual tension, these also presented huge challenges to the Doka Formwork Experts. The
Saturn Tower JV (of Lieb Bau Weiz, Granit Graz and Ragginger Bau) commissioned Doka to plan and supply all the formwork systems. "In the 19th storey, there are floor extensions that project more than four metres out of the side of the building", explains Hannes Benedikt, Technical Manager of Doka's Vienna
Branch. "Structural shapes like this make big demands of the formwork technology that is used."
However, it was not only these very varied façade elements that called for know-how from the Formwork Experts. "As work had fallen behind schedule during the
excavations, there was huge pressure to make up for lost time throughout the shell construction phase", remembers Christian Pimiskern, Project Manager at Doka. It was not possible to start the forming operations until the end of May. Work on the first casting section got underway in June 2003, and the last storey was completed on schedule just before
Christmas. "What was a very great help here was the flexible, fast consulting and assistance provided
by the Formwork Experts in the Vienna Branch", says Manfred Wenger, who was involved in servicing this project from Doka HQ in Amstetten. "This helped the JV
of Lieb Bau Weiz, Granit Graz and Ragginger Bau to accomplish this major project extremely successfully".
Three whole storeys completed every two weeks
A decisive factor that made it possible for all the typical stories of the Saturn Tower to be completed
by the year-end was the Formwork Experts' decision to use the Doka platform SCP. The lifting mechanism of this system makes for an extremely efficient mode of
working: The entire formwork- and working platform is moved upwards by large hydraulic cylinders, in one single lift. This simplified climbing operation saves a great deal of time - and thus money - with every single lift. The individual concreting sections were cast in 4-day cycles, in a total of 29 climbing operations.
However, the innovative Doka self-climbing platform SCP not only helped to save time. The floor-slabs and walls of the structure core had to be cast in one single pour. With the Doka platform SCP, solving this task was simple, as all the wall formwork - around 900 m2 of Top 50 - was suspended from the girder-grillage of the platform. Casting the floor-slabs and walls in one single pour also saved on cost-intensive reinforcement connections. The high lifting capacity of the Doka platform SCP (dead weight 263 tonnes, live load approx. 60 tonnes) meant that the 400 m2 platform could also be used as a storage area for reinforcement
steel etc., greatly reducing both crane times and the
amount of space needed for intermediate storage on the ground. The site crew were shielded from the wind and weather at all times by the "all-round formwork enclosure", so working up at windy heights was no problem, even at low temperatures.
For General Superintendent Hannes Url, the Doka platform SCP was definitely the right choice: "The most important thing for us was the safety of our people" he says, "and getting the fastest formwork
system we could for this complicated assignment. The SCP platform enabled us to meet both these goals highly satisfactorily. A really great piece of Doka engineering! And something else we shouldn't forget: The support that Doka supervising foreman Roland Mayr gave us in erecting the platform was simply superb."
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| The heart of the site: The Doka platform SCP. Enclosed on all sides, the platform provides fall protection at any height. |
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| The visibly very satisfied site management team. From left to right: Section Foreman Jörg Rath, General Superintendent Hannes Url, Section Foreman Hannes Lechner, Project Superintendent Hans Brunner, Project Superintendent Bernd Csida. |
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Contractors: ARGE Saturn Tower (Lieb Bau Weiz, Granit Graz and Ragginger Bau)
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