When the public baths were opened in 1914, they were pioneering in terms of equipment and technology and still impress today with their unique Art Nouveau ambience. It had three indoor swimming pools, steam and sweat baths, 66 baths, 14 shower baths and even a separate dog bath. After the Volksbad could no longer compete with modern indoor swimming pools, it was closed in 1994. As part of the revitalisation, two 25-metre swimming pools, a children's area, a wellness area with saunas, hammam, physiotherapy and fitness studio as well as a public restaurant will be built by mid-2025. A new building with a teaching pool and changing rooms will be erected in place of the boiler house.

Construction pits

Due to the location of the construction site in the middle of a densely built-up area in the city centre, the construction team faced considerable restrictions in terms of logistics, storage space and working space. The side of the construction pit was secured with around 380 m² of bored pile walls and 250 m² of simply back-anchored soldier pile shoring. Around 600 metres of DSV jet grouting as well as a nailed shotcrete facing were produced for the underpinning of the adjacent existing building. Some of the jet grouting work was carried out under very limited space and height conditions inside the building. It goes without saying that care was taken to ensure vibration-free work and careful handling of the historic building fabric. ‘We also focus on environmental protection. For example, our equipment uses bio-oil in the hydraulic system, which is rapidly biodegradable,’ says PORR project manager Peter Berneiser.

‘We were not only able to impress with the high quality of our workmanship, but also with good project coordination and great flexibility,’ says branch manager Wolfgang Wiesnet. The partial contamination of the soil was unknown when the contract was awarded. Around 2,200 m³ of partially contaminated excavated material was disposed of professionally and special protective equipment was required during the work.