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foundations could not be disturbed during
the civil engineering work, also had to be
taken into account. In order to achieve
gmp architects’ ideas, the structural design
experts at WTM Engineers Hamburg
suggested using Cobiax SL modules, since
using void formers compared to reinforced
concrete allows weight to be reduced
by up to 35 percent. “Our planning office
had already met with positive experiences
using Cobiax products in other projects,
and so they came up with a perfect
solution for this challenging project,” recall
Detlev Haasse and Christopher Gabbert,
Project Managers at WTM Engineers. The
patented Cobiax system, consisting of 250
cm long reinforced steel modules, where
void formers are installed once the halfparts
have been put together, replaces up
to 35 percent of concrete in areas where
no concrete is required for the (bending)
load-bearing ability of the slab. “Significant
savings in materials and weight can be
achieved through using our technology,”
explains Dipl.-Ing. Volkmar Wanninger,
Managing Director of Heinze Cobiax
Deutschland GmbH. “The positive impact
on the building’s structural design provides
the architects with previously unthinkable
opportunities for designing further spaces:
on the one hand through shallower slab
depths, and on the other through spanning
up to 20 m.”
These advantages could be exploited to
the full in the SPRINGER QUARTIER, as
various areas of the building could not have
direct foundations, complicated foundation
issues arose at the property boundaries
and the varied uses on some floors made
it necessary to use different retaining wall
designs. “Weight savings achieved by
using our void former systems made many
of the retaining walls viable in the first
place, as well as constructing some parts
of the building overhanging by up to 8 m,”
explain Gabbert and Müller with one voice.
Any values needed for planning the use of
void former systems were calculated for
the demanding architectural geometry in
the SPRINGER QUARTIER using “Quick
and Light” software, which Cobiax provides
to all structural engineers free of charge.
These structural design specifications
were subsequently incorporated into the
structural and reinforcement plans by the
Ed. Züblin AG Hamburg Technical Office,
and so could be implemented on the
construction site.
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