Pfahlgründung für ökologisches Wohnprojekt in der Wasserstadt Limmer

Special civil engineering

Sustainable pile foundation for ecological residential project in the water city of Limmer

18.03.2025 / Special civil engineering / Press Release

Five kilometres from the centre of Hanover, the diverse residential quarter ‘Wasserstadt Limmer’ is being built on an industrial wasteland. On behalf of the general contractor BöCon, the Oldenburg branch of PORR special civil engineering constructed the deep foundations with 259 resource-saving Atlas piles on the last available building site. Three ecological apartment buildings will be built there by 2026, in line with the Passive House Plus standard. The implementation planning, including the calculation of the pile statics and the creation of the pile plans, was provided by our colleagues from PORR Specialised Civil Engineering Planning.

A construction site where an atlas pile is being installed. A large yellow drilling rig stands in the middle of the picture, surrounded by construction workers and various construction machines. A concrete mixer truck is to the right of the rig. Several buildings can be seen in the background. — © PORR
<p>The last undeveloped lot in Wasserstadt Limmer is being built on.</p>

The subsoil required different settling depths and pile dimensions

The Wasserstadt Limmer is a major urban development project on the 23-hectare former factory premises of Continental AG in the Linden-Limmer district of Hanover. The area is located between the Hannover-Linden branch canal and the canal connecting to the Leine river. Once all the construction phases are complete, up to 6,500 people will live in the diverse and natural quarter. On an area of 4,525 square metres, the JAWA building association is constructing three modern three- and four-storey buildings with a total of 53 socially responsible and ecological apartments at affordable prices. A central square serves as a meeting place for residents.

The first few metres of the subsoil consist of silty soil that does not have sufficient load-bearing capacity. Therefore, a pile foundation up to twelve metres deep was required to transfer the loads. Since the horizon and the properties of the load-bearing layers varied greatly, different settlement depths and pile dimensions were planned. In total, the PORR special civil engineering team constructed 173 Atlas piles with a diameter of 41/51 centimetres for the spiral pile shaft, as well as 86 Atlas piles with a diameter of 46/56 centimetres.

Sustainable pile system complements ecological construction concept

Due to the reduced consumption of concrete and the full soil displacement, the slender Atlas screw piles are part of the Greenpile® technology of PORR's special civil engineering. The ready-mix concrete was transported from a concrete plant three kilometres away. The low-noise, vibration-free construction of the foundations was an important aspect in the selection of the method, as the adjacent new buildings are already occupied.

‘With our sustainable approach, we are a perfect match for the ecological concept of the residential project. Since we are already familiar with the conditions in Wasserstadt Limmer from previous jobs, we were able to offer competitive prices and complete the work on schedule and in the required quality in just two months,’ says branch manager Lars Brömstrup.