BBI passenger terminal in position after only one year

September 2009 | Airport Berlin Brandenburg International BBI, Berlin, Germany

The BBI airport is one of the largest traffic infrastructure projects under construction in Germany as well as currently being the biggest airport development project in Europe. BAM Deutschland AG is responsible for the structural work of the passenger terminal with a scheduled construction period limited to only twelve months. PERI was commissioned by the contractors to plan and supply the formwork and scaffolding systems, and impressed with expert engineering along with the delivery of large quantities of materials in a very short space of time.

Reinforced concrete work on the airport site began in July 2008 and a total of around 200,000 cubic metres of concrete for the terminal is required to complete this phase. For this, PERI supports the site personnel with different system formwork taken from its extensive product range which includes enormous quantities of slab, wall and column formwork. The PERI brief also features planning and supply of corresponding supports and shoring. The, in part, enormous peaks in demand for system equipment is covered by the PERI rental park - optimized to suit the on-site material requirements and strictly controlled in relation to the tight schedule. The short construction period specified by the client has also resulted in PERI having to meet challenging deadlines for the technical processing. In close co-ordination with BAM Deutschland AG, more than 400 formwork and assembly plans were created in the space of six months by PERI engineers, two PERI engineering offices were involved in the planning. This close co operation as well as the high availability of materials demonstrate - among many other aspects - the broad range of expertise provided by PERI.

Optimal system equipment for each requirement
The foundations and walls of the buildings are formed with TRIO panel formwork. The standard storey height of the wall sections is 3.75 metres, with wall thickness up to 80 centimetres. The proven and fast panel formwork system can be easily adapted to the different wall thicknesses and ground plans, with few individual components and a minimum number of standard elements.

For constructing the columns with cross-sections of up to 60 x 60 centimetres, the systems QUATTRO and RAPID are being used. The column height determines which system is selected: QUATTRO column formwork, with a permissible concrete pressure of 80 kN/m², allows concreting heights of up to around 4.50 metres and can be moved as a complete unit in one crane lift. In contrast, the RAPID formwork system can be loaded with a fresh concrete pressure of 120 kN/m² and be used - with the same cross section - for columns up to six metres high. The majority of the columns at the BBI are square-shaped with 80-centimetre side lengths and heights of six metres. These columns are formed with the VARIO GT 24 column formwork, which can be flexibly adapted to suit these dimensions and loads.

Most of the slab areas must be concreted in one pour together with the main and secondary beams due to the static system that has been selected. For these areas, the construction crew uses various formwork and shoring systems as well as panel formwork elements. The high concreting loads with the construction of the main beams require a formwork system with a high load-bearing capacity. For this, customised tables with a sub-structure comprised of SRU steel walers and GT 24 formwork girders are being used. The smaller dimensions of the secondary beams allow the use of standard table modules for their construction. TRIO panel formwork elements form the lateral formwork for the beams whilst adapting to the different beam heights takes place by doubling-up on the slab tables. MULTIFLEX girder slab formwork is being used for forming the slabs. The cross beams are supported on the side formwork of the beams as well as on centrically-arranged main beam area.

In each case, the formwork elements are supported according to the respective load requirements: the slab tables of the main beams rest on PERI UP Rosett shoring towers whilst for the secondary beams as well as for the slabs, MULTIPROP aluminium slab props or PEP steel tube props - depending on the load and height - are used. SKYDECK aluminium panel slab formwork and MULTIFLEX girder slab formwork ensure fast and cost-effective forming of the floor areas.

Pre-assembly operations reduce on-site set up times
The slab tables along with the column formwork are pre-assembled by PERI as transportable units and delivered directly to the construction site. Thus, assembly work on site is minimized, saving not only time and personnel requirements but also storage space and working areas. Furthermore, planning operations for the site management have also been reduced.

Due to the huge quantities of materials and short-term delivery deadlines, various PERI branch offices co-operated closely together for the assembly work: slab tables and formwork elements were prefabricated in Berlin, Leipzig, Hamburg as well as in Weissenhorn which is also responsible for the overall coordination.

Detailed solutions for fast and safe project execution
In order to ensure fast construction progress, almost 2,000 modular tables as well as more than 700 customized slab tables - designed together with BAM Deutschland AG - are currently being used for the project. For moving the tables in the shortest time possible, the transportation trolley can easily be adapted to match the floor heights of over 5.50 metres.

In addition, the SKYDECK system formwork minimizes crane requirements as the individual components of the aluminum panel slab formwork weigh a maximum 15 kg. Site operations are also provided with more flexibility because even with higher wind forces, work can continue without any interruptions. This is a very important factor for the Berlin airport project which is regularly affected by high wind conditions.

The PERI project manager
The size of the building site and the particularly short construction time necessitates large quantities of formwork materials. Therefore, in order to reduce the on-site material requirements, PERI appointed a project manager. In close co-operation with BAM Deutschland AG, formwork requirements - in terms of cost reduction measures - are matched to the actual construction progress. The PERI project manager regularly participates in on-site meetings, coordinates planning and assembly work undertaken at the PERI facilities, and schedules deliveries and return shipments of materials. This relieves the site management of coordinating tasks and optimizes the rental costs for the formwork and scaffolding equipment.

BBI – a major airport for Berlin and Brandenburg
With the construction of the new BBI, all air traffic for the Berlin-Brandenburg region will be concentrated at the airport in the south-east of the city. In the first step, Tempelhof Airport was closed at the end of October 2008 which will be followed in 2011 by the closure of Tegel Airport. When completed, this major airport development, planned in co-operation with architects from Gerkan, Marg and Partner, will be a high-tech aviation hub that offers the best connections, international flights, direct motorway access, and a railway station directly below the terminal. Structural work on the terminal is scheduled to be finished in 2010 and air traffic operations will commence on 30 October 2011.

Contractor:
BAM Deutschland AG, Stuttgart

Field Service:
PERI Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Weißenhorn, Germany

PERI Systems In Use
- MULTIFLEX Girder Slab Formwork
- MULTIPROP Slab prop
- MULTIPROP System
- PERI UP Rosett
- QUATTRO Column formwork
- RAPID Column formwork
- SKYDECK Aluminium Panel Slab Formwork
- Table Modules
- TRIO
- VARIO GT 24 Column formwork

PERI was founded in 1969 and is today one of the leading providers of formwork and scaffolding systems. Along with the headquarters in Weißenhorn, Germany, the company has 47 international subsidiaries and 100 stock yards around the world. The company has over 5400 employees of which 850 are engineers. 2008 revenues was 1,220 million Euros.

PERI GmbH
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This release was published on openPR.