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Foundations

Berlin
Friedenauer Höhe

Berlin, Germany / 2022

On the site of the former Wilmersdorf goods yard, a new urban quarter known as Friedenauer Höhe is being developed in the south of Berlin. By 2026, apartments, commercial spaces and public open spaces will be developed across an area of around 51,000 m², forming a new part of the inner-city living environment. For the construction phases in the southern part of the quarter, PORR special civil engineering manufactured a total of 1,068 atlas piles between February and September 2022. The structural analysis and detailed design were carried out by PORR special civil engineering planning.

Stump franki FriedenauerHoehe

Facts & Figures


Company

PORR Spezialtiefbau GmbH

Type

Foundations

Runtime

2022

Principal
Instone Real Estate, OFB Projektentwicklung

From a former goods station to a new urban neighbourhood

Pile foundations for the new construction phases

PORR special civil engineering installed a total of 1,068 atlas piles for the southern building plots in the quarter. Previously, 936 atlas piles had already been installed in the northern part of the site to provide foundations for further construction phases. The piles transfer the loads of the future buildings into the load-bearing soil layers and form the basis for the subsequent structural works. The design of the pile foundations was tailored to the requirements of the various building structures as well as the ground conditions of the former railway site.

Atlas piles in an inner-city setting

A full-displacement method using atlas piles was employed for the deep foundations. The piles anchor into load-bearing sand layers at a depth of around 10 metres. The upper soil layers consisted of loosely consolidated sands as well as a layer of glacial marl several metres thick containing boulders. These geological conditions determined the requirements for the construction of the pile foundation. The atlas piles were tailored to the ground conditions and the requirements of the future buildings and form the basis for the subsequent construction phases of the quarter.

Work between existing and new buildings

The pile foundation was constructed on a site that is gradually being developed from the former railway station area into a new urban quarter. In addition to the ground conditions, the spatial constraints of the inner-city location, site logistics as well as the coordination of the various construction phases had to be taken into account. PORR special civil engineering planning took charge of the structural analysis and detailed design for the pile foundation works, thereby supporting the preparation for construction.

The foundation for a new quarter

Even before the first buildings began to shape the appearance of the new urban quarter, the foundations for a further section of the Friedenauer Höhe were being laid beneath the surface. The completion of the pile foundations paved the way for the subsequent building works. Step by step, a new part of the city is thus emerging on the site of the former goods railway station, between Schöneberg and Tempelhof.