Hamburg

Münzviertel residential district

Construction pits and pile foundations for a new residential development in Hamburg

Residential development in Hamburg’s Münzviertel

The development is situated in an inner-city location in the immediate vicinity of Hamburg Central Station and adjacent residential areas. The new development required both construction pits and foundation works, which were tailored to the local ground conditions and the site’s specific circumstances.

Construction pit under challenging subsoil conditions

The subsoil consisted of sandy and silty fill, partly underlain by clay. In deeper layers, load-bearing sands as well as glacial marl were encountered. In addition, the site exhibited a difference in elevation of around three metres between the north and south sides. Various types of shoring were used to stabilise the construction pit. In the northern section, soldier pile shoring was constructed. To secure adjacent existing buildings, tangential and back-anchored bored pile walls were erected.

Trough-shaped excavation with cut-off walls and diaphragm walls

In the southern part of the project, the excavation was carried out as a trough-shaped excavation. There, cut-off walls with embedded sheet piles were used. In areas subject to increased loads from adjacent existing buildings, approximately 1,600 m² of in-situ concrete diaphragm walls with wall thicknesses of up to 80 cm were additionally constructed. The construction pit walls were subsequently back-anchored using grouted anchors.

650 atlas piles for deep foundations

A total of 650 atlas piles, ranging in length from 10 m to 24 m, were installed for the foundations of the four buildings. During the excavation work, numerous existing foundations and old piles were uncovered in the subsoil. As these remained in the subsoil, the pile design was adapted to the actual conditions encountered throughout the course of the project. The atlas piles were subsequently installed between the existing foundation elements.

Special civil engineering for inner-city housing development

The combination of excavation shoring, cut-off walls, diaphragm walls and atlas pile foundations formed the basis for the realisation of the new residential quarter in Hamburg’s Münzviertel. The planning and execution were tailored to the existing buildings as well as to the ground conditions at the site.

The basis for the redevelopment of the quarter

The excavation of the construction pit and the installation of the pile foundations laid the groundwork for the construction of the four buildings. The specialist civil engineering works carried out form the basis for the residential quarter in the Münzviertel, near Hamburg Central Station.