CONSTRUCTION SITE
NEWS
Since construction started, we’ve documented the process, which can be viewed in our showroom.
Here in the archive, we’re gathering information from recent issues of our wall-newspaper for online publication in “Baustellen News.”
This unprecedented structure constitutes many challenges for everyone involved. We interview experts and provide detailed, behind-the-scenes insights.
#1 FLOOR SLAB
Construction manager Christian Fuchs—focus of the first issue of Construction Site News—is responsible for the construction of the Archive of the Future. He discusses the specific features of the floor slab construction and the intricacies of the underlying basement. Listen to the interview and read the photo captions:
A ) A unique point of departure
During excavation, archaeological objects and a 15th century vaulted cellar were found buried on the builing site of the Archive of the Future. These discoveries will be preserved and made accessible to the public. The vaulted ceiling was carefully numbered stone by stone and removed. It will be reinstalled in the newly finished basement once restoration is complete.
→ Listen to the interview
B ) Complex calculations
The willow trees swaying above the building - a construct made of steel - are a considerable structural challenge. Before construction began, the neighbouring building first had to be shored up and stabilized using five steel support panels weighing 25 tonnes each.
→ Listen to the interview
C ) The construction
The massive, 40 cm thick floor slab provides a surface to which the “roots” of the steel willows can be anchored. The slab itself is poured in place, supported from below by a series of borehole pilings, which double as the basement walls. Layers of sediment and incidental drilling scars imprinted on the pilings visually communicate the processes at play in this type of deep foundation construction.
→ Listen to the interview
D ) The next step
With the foundation solidly in place it’s time to erect the steel structure. Its design, like that of the willow trees, is unquestionably complex. Light and effortless with an inviting, open effect, each floor will appear to be in gentle suspension.
→ Listen to the interview