european concrete award 2008architecture of sverre fehn. succeeding in creating this balance between...

European ConcreteAward 2008

Buildings

PROJECT DESCRIPTIONSince the early 20th century Norway’s largest publishinghouse, Gyldendal forlag, has been located on the blockbetween Universitetsgata and Sehesteds Square in themiddle of Oslo. Hidden behind the 19th century façadeis the new, modern headquarter. From the main entryone is invited into a thoroughly urban main floor, whereauditorium, cafeteria, and conference room (Inside the“Danish House”, a replica of the original façade of theformer Danish mother company in Copenhagen) openup for interaction between the publisher and the public.In the center of the building is Ibsenhallen (Ibsen Hall), alarge open space going up five floors and surrounded bygalleries with adjacent offices. Balcony fronts in lightgrey, almost white, concrete form evenly spaced ribbonssurrounding the hall. A massive concrete stairway, in itself a very decorativesculptured structure, connects the floors. Concretepyramid skylights allow soft light to enter. The play between the large hall, the office areas and thefacades give the whole place a thoroughly litappearance, while simultaneously providing intimacy tothe work areas. The major mass of the building is in castin place concrete. The floor surfaces in the buildingareas as well as the built-in furnishing and balconyhandrails, are in light, oiled oak.The combination of the wood and the almost whiteconcrete surfaces give the whole interior a very soft andan unusual appearance, causing the visitor to stop andadmiration as he enters the building.

ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE USE OF CONCRETE IN GYLDENDALHUSET

The use of environmentally correct building materialshas been of great importance in the project. The use of concrete as a major building material in most

of the exposed surfaces give a thermally heavy structureserving as a reservoir of thermal energy. The ventilationand cooling systems are all optimized in order to takeadvantage of these properties.The windows are located and the skylights are shaped insuch a way in order to minimize direct sunlight, whilestill allowing plenty of daylight into the building. The floor construction has an inclined soffit, allowingdaylight to penetrate further into the building. Thecombination of the light concrete surfaces, and theindirect lightening gives a higher natural light intensitythan what is to be expected, reducing the necessity forelectrical lighting resulting in less use of energy.The use of the light coloured exposed concrete reducesthe need of painted surfaces and gives a healthyenvironment inside the building. It has also been of great importance throughout theproject to make a solid and durable building.

OTHER ASPECTS

Design and constructionOne of the big challenges was to retain the old masonryfacades while tearing everything down inside. This made the construction site extremely tight withcomplicated structures and logistical challenges.Long spans in the office area required quite a largeconstruction depth. This gave way for the slantedceiling. The hollow space between floor slab and ceilingwas utilized for ventilation ducts and other technicalinstallations.

WINNER

2 European Concrete Award 2008

THE GYLDENDAL HOUSE

Sehesteds Square,

Oslo, Norway

The exposed interior concrete surfaces required spotlessand tight formwork surfaces, a concrete mix with verysmall variations and very careful placement of theconcrete. This was masterly solved thanks to closecooperation between the architect, contractor and theconcrete supplier.Also the prefabricated 5 by 5m skylights were achallenge. They were all in various shapes, but were allput together and erected in a perfect fit.

Properties of the concreteThe concrete is made from light coloured sand, localaggregate and white Aalborg Portland cement. This proved to be a challenge for everyone. The mix wasstiffer than ordinary concrete and reacted differently toadditives.During the concrete production the mixing plant couldnot produce ordinary grey concrete in fright ofdiscolouration. The plant had to be 100% clean, andthe production required accurate assistance fromtechnical support.

Innovative use of concreteThe combination of utilization of thermal mass,sculptured shapes and almost white concrete in anarchitectural very pleasing way make the projectoutstanding in Norwegian measurements. The difficultconcrete mixture and the very accurate and complicatedformwork was a challenge which was solved in anexcellent way.The pyramidically shaped skylights are worth studying asthey lead the light into the rooms below avoiding directsunlight.

Workmanship and finishOur experience is that the key to great results in whiteor light grey concrete is a good cooperation between architects, contractors and concrete suppliers. In this respect the Gyldendal Project is a role model in the dialog between the main actors in the design and construction process. Looking at the final result it is an outstanding exampleof a very tactile and honest use of light colouredconcrete - both from a structural as well as anaesthetical point of view.The use of concrete, both in details and the general interplay with other materials, is masterly composed togive an interior where concrete is expressed in a very natural way, with all its natural small “imperfections”exposed and almost emphasized as aesthetical qualities- which is in fact one of the trademarks for the

architecture of Sverre Fehn. Succeeding in creating thisbalance between structural and aesthetical perfection ofconcrete design, is an even greater achievement whentaking the logistical challenges of the construction siteinto account.Again the early and constructive dialog betweenarchitect, contractor and concrete supplier has made abig positive difference in effectiveness on theconstruction site and on cost focus general, withoutcompromising the intended architectural qualities.

COMPANIES INVOLVED

Architect Arkitekt Sverre Fehn ASBy Professor Architect MNAL Sverre Fehn,Project supervisorArchitect MNAL Inge Hareideand Architect MNAL Kristoffer Moe Bøksle

Owner Gyldendal ASACompletion date November 2007

Other companies involved in the concrete construction

Strøm Gundersen AS(Concrete contractor)Egil Lundhaug, Trond Dihle

Unicon AS(Ready mix concrete)

Aalborg Portland(White cement)

Con-form AS(Pre-fabricated concrete skylights)

Rambøll Norge AS(Engineering)Ommund Hansen

Vedal Prosjekt AS(Project leader)Egil Vedal

Vedal Entrepenør AS(General contractor)Anders Palm, Stein Karlsen

Gyldendalhuset

European Concrete Award 2008 3

Honourable mention


Introduction The new building for the Institute for Sound and Visionis a composition of four blocks, of which two aresituated above the ground level and two beneath it. Thelower blocks make about half of the total volume andwere built as much as 10 m’ below thegroundwaterlevel. The two subterraneous blocks are separated bij a deep“canyon” and the upper blocks are separated by a longand high atrium. This atrium is placed perpendicular tothe canyon and it has a stepped ceiling, like a cascade.

Due to this arrangement the visitors and users of eachblock have visual contact to all the other areas.To give all the blocks a similar expression from outsidethe facade is the same at four sides of te building.In the building there is place for 10.000 m2 of depotand archives, 6.000 m2 officespace, 850 m2 of publicspace and 6.300 m2 museum. In all parts of the buildingconcrete is the mayor building material in creating arational structural concept. Sometimes it is also used asa architectural element.By combining several possibilities of the use of concreteat the end there was a complex structure that of coursecomplied with all demands of strength, stiffness andalso of course to the demands of the client and thearchitects.

MuseumThe museum is a compilation of a great number of bigspaces in a very large empty box.The number of supports of this box is very limited, dueto the wish to make an atrium without columns.

DUTCH INSTITUTE FOR

SOUND AND VISION,

Hilversum,

The Netherlands

Dutch Institute for Sound and Vision


Concrete is used for:• The floor of the museum is made of prefabricated,

prestressed VIP-beams, on a centre to centredistance of 2,4 m and with a span of 23,4 m. Ontop of the beams the precast floor is a goodexample of a highly integrated design. In the freespace between the beams all mechanical andelectrical pipes and ducts are located. Despite thevery large span it was possible to limit the floor tofloor height. This floor is designed so that notemporary supports were necessary duringconstruction. Due to the canyon and the atrium,supports should have a length of approx. 18 m.

• The roof is made of TT-beams with a span of 18 m.The supports of this beams is on a steel structurenear the concrete core and on a truss with a 54 mlong span near the atrium.

• For the large slender facades in situ concrete isused. In this way is was possible to make cantileverend of 14,8 m. The facades are supported by veryslender V- shaped columns of highly reinforcedconcrete. To make these structures self compactingconcrete is used grade C52/65.

• By using in situ concrete there is made a 7,2 mcantilever extending from the concrete core. Thestructure acts as a “vierendeel” beam. Thisstructure made it possible to create a 54 m widefree atrium in which the museum is hanging as acascade. These structures also needed the use ofself compacting concrete.

OfficesThe bottom of the floors of the offices remains in sightso that the concrete can be activated in terms of theregulation of the inside temperature. For that purposehoses are put in the concrete which are filled runningwater. The variation of the inside temperature is highlyminimized by this system. To create a nice ceiling it isnecessary to put strict demands on the tolerances.

Depot/archivesTo make sure that a high building speed was possible,the walls of the depots and archives are made of twoprecast plates, on a distance of approx. 150 mm. Thespace between both plates is reinforced and concrete ispoured between the wall-elements.

Building pitAt the site there is no impermeable horizontal groundlayer available that can be used as a waterstop. Thesubsoil is sand which is a very bad barrier for water.Therefore the bottom of the pit is made by underwaterconcrete floor with vertical anchors to resist the 10mwaterpressure during construction. On the perimeter ofthe building a slurry wall is made which is supported bythe underwater concrete floor and anchored withgoundanchors.Inside this simple concrete box, the actual building iserected. The concrete box keeps the water away fromthe precious archives.

Honourable mention


Project DescriptionThe recently completed Sillogue Water Storage Facility isthe most visible element of the major North FringeWater Supply Scheme constructed to improve theexisting water supply to north Dublin and serve therapidly developing areas along Dublin City’s northfringe.The site of the facility is immediately adjacent to theM50 motorway at Sillogue near Dublin Airport innorth Dublin.

The main features of the storage facility are reinforcedconcrete structures including a 39m high water towerwith a capacity of 5 million litres, ground level reservoirwith a capacity 30 million litres and a pumping station.

The location of the site which is immediately adjacentto the M50 and close to Dublin Airport meant that thetower and pumping station in particular would behighly visible to the general public. The tower is a largeand prominent structure and the challenge was toachieve a design that would be both elegant andstructurally efficient. This challenge was successfullymet by consulting engineers McCarthy HyderConsultants and architects Michael Collins andAssociates by the use of a double parabolic curveprofile accentuated by vertical recessed fluting. Thedesign was translated into reality by contractor JohnCradock Ltd. and the new water tower, althoughdesigned primarily as a functional structure, stands outas an impressive piece of urban sculpture on theDublin skyline. The tower is floodlit at night to furtherenhance the overall effect of this unique structure.

Construction of the tower involved large concretepours, complex reinforcement at high level and theachievement of high quality finishes using intricatecurved formwork. The contractor John Cradock Ltdmet all the construction challenges of this project byimplementing a stringent quality control system on

concrete supply and workmanship and using custommade formwork supplied by Austrian company Rund-Stahl-Bau. Close co-ordination between the Consultant,Contractor and RSB ensured that a high degree ofconcrete finish was achieved. By designing the inner andouter bowl formwork as two independent and selfsupporting units the loads carried by the formwork weretransferred directly into the cured concrete of the mainshaft main shaft eliminating the need for supportscaffolding. Safety was a paramount concern duringconstruction particularly as much of the work wascarried out at height and the cooperation of all led to aconstruction phase with no serious accidents.

The project is funded by Dublin City Council with Fingal County Council and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government throughthe National Development Plan.

SILLOGUE WATER STORAGE FACILITY, Dublin, Ireland

Sillogue Water Tower


Sillogue Water Storage Facility - Technical Details

TowerCapacity 5,000m3

Overall Height 39mConcrete Volume 4,950m3

Reinforcing Steel 580 tonnesFormwork 6,300 m2

Ground Reservoir

Capacity 30,000m³ Internal Height 6 mOverall length 92 mOverall width 66mConcrete Volume 5,600 m³Reinforcing Steel 770 tonnesFormwork 12,200 m²

COMPANIES INVOLVED

PromotersDublin City Council; Fingal County Council;Department of Heritage and Local Government.

Project Managers & Consulting EngineersMcCarthy Hyder Consultants (Joint venture betweenPH McCarthy Consulting Engineers and Hyder Consultants)

ArchitectsMichael Collins Associates

ContactBrianMurphy (8) 676-0916Newmount House22-24 Lower Mount StreetDublin, 2IrelandT + 353 1 676-0916E [email protected]

ContractorJohn Cradock Ltd.

Formwork SupplierRund-Stahl-Bau

Concrete SupplierRoadstone

Villa Van Esch


VILLA VAN ESCH,Tilburg,The Netherlands

Decomo sa


DECOMO SA,Mouscron,Belgium

Centre Dramatique National de Montreuil


CENTRE DRAMATIQUENATIONAL DE MONTREUIL,France

The Sleeping Giant


THE SLEEPING GIANT,Ireland

Sohlbergplassen


SOHLBERGPLASSEN,Norway

‘The Source’ Thurles Arts Centre


‘THE SOURCE’ THURLES ARTS CENTRE, Ireland

Diamond Synchroton


DIAMONDSYNCHROTON,Oxfordshire,United Kingdom

Beetham Towers


BEETHAMTOWERS,Manchester,United Kingdom

European ConcreteAward 2008

Civil Engineering

WINNER


Introduction The architectonic design made high demands to thestructural design (DHV) and the technical realization.Heijmans Beton- en Waterbouw (concrete and hydraulicengineering) and Holcim Betonmortel (concretemortar) co-operated in the complex job.Condition: fair face concrete that folds like a curl ofbutter. The colour needed to be consistent everywhereand air bubbles were unacceptable. Besides, thestructural design soon showed that the oval shapescouldonly be casted using self-leveling concrete on site.The tunnel is divided into various different slices thatcontinually were poured in two parts with B65 concrete.The upper parts got a completely closed formwork. Thatwas minute carpentered, inch by inch. For the veryliquid concrete would absorb all unevenness. With twopumps in four different places the concrete wassteadily and simultaneously forced up through pressurevalves. In such a way it flew symmetrical into theformwork. Never before a project was executed in suchan innovative manner. According the DHVconsultant the project balanced on the edge ofimpossibility.

To attend the requirements for the surface quality, thetime to dismount the formwork and pre-stressing wereprecisely defined. To ensure balance in production,quality and logistics an efficient and tight organizationwas required. Continuous supply of concrete wasessential because concrete could not be given theopportunity to set or segregate.

Building sustainableThe Provence of South Holland set high demands forthe sustainability of the design. Therefore varioushigh-quality materials were applied in the designchoices. This way the amount of required material wasreduced.

The concrete strength B65 has environment class 4 forconstruction, the timbers are FSC certified and themetal parts are made of aluminum and stainless steal.For the dimensioning of the complex form design a3D model was developed. From this model theconstruction was further detailed and the specificationswere set.

Not just any tunnelNever before a tunnel was designed and constructedlike this. With two pumps the concrete was steadilyforced up simultaneously at four sides.The oval shapes could only be casted using self-levelingconcrete on site.The concrete recedes gradually into walls on both sidesand then pulls back into a carpet.

TUNNEL RODENRIJSEVAART

(KW17 in de N470),

The Netherlands

Tunnel Rodenrijsevaart


Honourable mention


Introduction The Bridge across the Rybny Creek is being builton the section H of the Freeway D8 thatcrosses the mountains forming a border betweenthe Czech Republic and Germany. The bridgethat is situated up to 52 m above the terrain isformed by an incrementally launched continuousbox girder of seven spans of length from 34 to 58m. The bridge of the width of 31 m is beingbuilt by Metrostav a.s. a subcontractor of theJoint Venture 7/II H, that is formed by firmsSTRABAG a.s., Beroun and SKANSKA DS a.s.,Brno, Czech Republic.

In a bid project the crossing was formed by a traditional twin bridge. The structure of eachbridge was formed by one cell box girder thatwas supported by piers of the box section of theheight up to 47 m. The design supposed that thebridge will be incrementally cast beyond theabutment and consequently launched into thedesign position. The static effects in the launchedcantilever were reduced by a steel nose. Due tothe launching technology, the box girder hadrelatively large depth – 4.20 m.

Due to the severe winter, the constructionseasons are very short at the bridge site. Since thebridge has to be built within two years, the bothbridges would have to be built simultaneously.That means that it would be necessary to use twoforms and to procure two launching equipmentsand two launching noses.That is why the Metrostav, a.s. asked theDepartment of concrete structures of the BrnoUniversity of Technology to work out anarchitectural and structural study of the bridgethat would convey both freeway’s directions.

BRIDGE OVER

RYBNY CREEK,

Czech Republic

‘

‘

Bridge over Rybny creek


The study that was done in June 2004 wasworked outin two options. In the first option the bridge hadthe same span length and structural depth as thebid structure; in the second option the spanlength was doubled, structural depth wasincreased to 5.20 m and for launching temporarytowers were situated in the place of omittedpiers.In both options the deck was formed by a onecell box girder with large overhangs supported bysingle precast struts.After an economic evaluation the Metrostav, a.s.submitted the first option to the Joint Venture 7/IIH and to the client – Directory of the freewaysand highways of the Czech Republic, Prague – foran approval. After accepting of the proposed solution, thedesign firm Strasky, Husty and Partners, Ltd., Brnohas worked out the detailed design.

Architectural And Structural DesignIn the place of the crossing the bridge axis is inthe plan circle with a radius R = 1,750 m thattransfers into a transition curve with a parameterA = 1,387 and in the sag curve with a radius of R= 24,500 m. The freeway was designed in one sided cross-slope of 2.5%.

‘

Honourable mention


Introduction The bridges in the Rotterdam Zuiderpark owe theirespecially pleasing aspect to the aesthetic use ofconcrete in the slender structure. The final designprocess has made full use of ingenious shutteringtechniques with double-curved surfaces andprefabrication, enabling a whole family of bridges to beconstructed that are related in appearance, but offer avariety of length, widths, and shapes.

ConceptThe green heart of Rotterdam South has been given anew lease of life. The renovation plan for the parkincludes wider stretches of water, undulating terrain,improved connections, and added atmosphere. Thetraditional city park has been adapted to the citizens oftoday. More people of many more different ages,lifestyles, and cultures will be making use of the park.The bridges will form an important element as part ofthe routes through the park, and to provide a means ofcrossing the various stretches of water. The competition-winning design developed by DP6 and ABT for the newfamily of bridges is a redefined interpretation of the oldZuiderpark bridges – with a strong identity emanating asober kind of beauty.

DesignThe new bridges were developed as objects, elegantand bold. Just like the existing bridges, the new bridgesare sober in appearance, but differences in bridgeheadsand centre sections, with a range of lengths and widths,combine to produce an endless variety within the family.

BRIDGES ZUIDERPARK,

Rotterdam,

The Netherlands

Bridges Zuiderpark


The lines of the landscape flow into the lines of thebridge. The bridge appears to grow naturally from thelandscape, but retains its own identity.While the structural requirements, load figures,production restraints, maximum inclination, andminimum headroom all contributed to the final shape ofthe bridge, it remained important to maintain theflowing lines, the tension in the bridgehead lines, andthe slenderness of the centre section.

PreparationThe bridgeheads and the bridge deck use prefabricatedconcrete. The shuttering for the various bridgeheadswas constructed with great precision, with plywoodforming the double-curved surfaces. An ingenioussystem for assembling, removing, and adjusting theshuttering enabled the same components to be reusedin different locations.The bridge deck shuttering was adapted for multiple usein bridges of various lengths and widths by the simpleexpedient of adjusting the forms’ width and arch shape.

ProductionThe concrete elements were produced in series. Thecomposition of the concrete had to be carefullyadjusted in order to obtain the correct shape, colour,and surface texture for each element. The cement skinwas carefully removed by means of light grit blastingto create a surface blend of dark pebbles against abackground of light concrete.

ConstructionIn the park, the extremely thin bridge decks were installed between the bridgeheads, with the prefab components being interconnected using wet joins.In order to ensure perfect flow of the bridge line, thespecifications included strict tolerance requirements.The gradual reduction in size of the bridge sidescombines with the flow of the arch to ensuremaximum viewing clearance under the bridge.

COMPANIES INVOLVED

ClientdS+V/ OBR, Gemeente Rotterdam.

Design teamArchitectuurstudio, Delft / ABT adviesbureau voor bouwtechniek, Delft

Structural consultansABT adviesbureau voor bouwtechniek, Delft / Gemeentewerken Rotterdam

ContractorAannemersbedrijf Colijn, Werkendam

Thorntonbank Wind farm


THORNTONBANKWIND FARM, Belgium

Bridge over the Labe at Nymburk


BRIDGE OVER THELABE AT NYMBURK, Czech Republic

Le pont du Languedoc


LE PONT DU LANGUEDOC, France

Cathaleens Falls Bridge


CATHALEENS FALLSBRIDGE, Ireland

Savena Bridge


SAVENA BRIDGE, Italy

Viaduct of SS 23


VIADUCT OF SS 23, Italy

HSL-Zuid


HSL-ZUID,The Netherlands

Central Park Entrance Gateway


CENTRAL PARK ENTRANCE GATEWAY, United Kingdom

The members of the Jury of the ECSN Award 2008

Michel Denayer, CFE Engineering Department, Belgium

Prof.dr.-Ing. E.h. Manfred Nussbaumer M.Sc., DBV, Germany

Assoc. Prof. Ing. Jaroslav Navratil, Phd., Czech Concrete Society, Czech Republic

Ole H.Krokstrand, Byggutengrenser.no, Norway

Bob Cather, Director Arup Materials Consulting, United Kingdom

Prof.Bo Göran Hellers, KTH/Arkitektus, Sweden

Prof.ing. Marco Menegotto, AICAP, Italia

Michel Virlogeux, Virlogeux Consulting, France

Wim Anemaat, RWS Bouwdienst, The Netherlands

Paul Hackett, John Sisk & Son Ltd, Ireland

Secretary: ir. Dick Stoelhorst, Betonvereniging (Concrete Society), The Netherlands

european concrete award 2008architecture of sverre fehn. succeeding in creating this balance between...

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