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The Squaire, Frankfurt, Germany

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In the 1980s, the Squaire in Frankfurt am Main would have looked like a site of a science fiction film. Today, the building, which opened in April 2011, is known as one of the most modern landmarks of the German financial capital. Peikko’s DELTABEAM®s were used in the construction of the Squaire, which stands on 86 steel columns above a high speed railway station next to the Frankfurt am Main airport.

The total investment in the project was approximately EUR 1.3 billion. The Squaire is built above the AirRail Terminal, which connects it with Terminal 1 of Frankfurt am Main Airport by a 240 meters long glass-enclosed bridge. The structure is 660 metres long – that is twice the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris - 65 metres wide and has a total height of 45 meters divided into nine floors.  In addition to offices, the Squaire houses a shopping arcade, restaurants and two hotels for the Hilton chain. The complex opened in April 2011 and is today the largest office building in Germany, with rentable area of 140,000 square meters.

 

Impressive structure built using various building techniques

 

The owner of the building is project developer IVG Immobilien AG – a small minority share belongs to Fraport AG, The Frankfurt am main airport. Architecture for the building was done by German firm JSK Architekten and the building’s shell constructed by Stuttgart-based Ed. Zublin AG.

In total, some 20,000 tons of steel and 60,000 cubic metres of concrete were used to build the Squaire. Tobias Budde, projects Technical Drawing Manager at Ed. Zublin AG, said in addition to DELTABEAM®s, also Peikko’s column shoes, anchor bolts, fastening plates and tailor made fixings were used in the construction of the Squaire. “Because of the complex structure of the Squaire, several kinds of building techniques and materials from precast to in-situ cast concrete in addition to Peikko’s products were used,” Budde said. “DELTABEAM®s were used in all standard ceiling constructions of the project, where they served purpose very well,” he added.

 

DELTABEAM® chosen because of its lightness

In addition to some 11 kilometres of DELTABEAM®s,  Peikko’s delivery to the site consisted of 17.000 pcs of column shoes, 17.000 pcs of anchor bolts, more than 500 tons of fastening plates and special tailor made fixings. In total, Peikko’s delivery to the site was worth approximately EUR 4.5 million.

Sascha Schaaf, Project Manager at Peikko’s German subsidiary Peikko Deutschland GmbH said DELTABEAM® was chosen for the project because of its lightness. “DELTABEAM® with hollow-core slabs is approximately 30 percent lighter than a normal massive concrete slab. That was very important for the availability of fish-bellied girder, columns and foundations. Using DELTABEAM® also enabled the building of one additional floor used for technical installations because of its thinness,” Schaaf said.

 

Busy location complicates delivery to site

The order for the project was manufactured at Peikko’s factories in Waldeck, Germany and Kralova nad Vahom, Slovakia. The Squaire project was the first major delivery for Peikko’s Slovakian factory and delivery timelines were kept well, Schaaf said.

“Peikko Group would not have been able to take this project without the new
Slovakian DELTABEAM® factory where production started in late spring 2008. The new capacity was crucial for Peikko to enable us to agree to supply this important project for the company,” said Schaaf.

But back in Germany, delivering the DELTABEAM®s to the construction site near the airport posed plenty of challenges. “The Squaire is located between the A3 highway and other busy streets. That means it was very difficult to send our parts to site - the DELTABEAM®s had an average length of 15 meters,” Schaaf said.

 

The Squaire becomes Peikko’s leading reference in Germany

In most cases Peikko co-ordinated the deliveries with the constructor. “We had to deliver the beams in one hour because before or after this time there would not have been cranes for unloading,” Schaaf added. Overall the order was completed without any major issues, Budde confirmed. “Everything went as planned and we had a very good communication with people at Peikko. Co-ordination and proper delegation are crucial in complex projects like this,” he said.

Schaaf noted the Squaire works as an excellent reference for Peikko in winning contracts for future projects in Germany. “The Squaire is an important building for the airport in Frankfurt. It is also an
excellent reference for Peikko’s products in Germany because all potential clients know the Frankfurt Airport. The building also has notable architectural value, being an excellent example of beautiful architectural design using precast elements.” 

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Because of the complex structure of the Squaire, several kinds of building techniques and materials from precast to in-situ cast concrete in addition to Peikko’s products were used. DELTABEAM®s were used in all standard ceiling constructions of the project, where they served purpose very well.

Tobias Budde, projects Technical Drawing Manager, Ed. Zublin AG

Project facts

Project size:
200 000 m2
Project size:
147 ft2
Floors:
9
Developer:
IVG Immobilien AG, Fraport AG
Construction Company:
Ed. Züblin AG
Architect:
JSK International Architekten und Ingenieure
Completion year:
2011

Talk to our experts

Sascha Schaaf

Sascha Schaaf

Project Development Manager

Tel. +49 6436 916464
Mob. +49 175 271 2173
[email protected]