Feb 07, 2022
Topping-out ceremony: The shell of the carbon reinforced concrete building CUBE successfully completed
Topping-out ceremony: The shell of the carbon reinforced concrete building CUBE successfully completed
Building owner Manfred Curbach speaks of a "masterpiece".
Dresden, February 3rd,2022. At the unusual construction site on the corner of Zellescher Weg and Einsteinstraße in Dresden, the construction workers involved in the construction were thanked today at a small event to mark the topping-out ceremony. Due to the current pandemic situation, only representatives of the joint venture consisting of Hentschke Bau GmbH and Bendl Hoch- und Tiefbau GmbH & Co. KG Sebnitz, representatives of the association C³ - Carbon Concrete Composite and the CUBE planning team of the TU Dresden could be invited.
A topping-out ceremony is traditionally celebrated when the structural work has been completed. As the CUBE shell consists exclusively of concrete components and structural steel elements, there was no wooden beams ready to mount the topping-out wreath. Instead, a topping-out crown was symbolically hung on the crane hook and positioned at the height of the structure. As a sign of the completion of the structural work, the building owner, Professor Manfred Curbach, then drove a nail into the carpenter's beams - a special wooden beam that was placed at the base of the building by the workers.
He then thanked the construction workers for their tireless commitment and for being so willing to work with a completely new material - carbon reinforced concrete. "The result speaks for itself. The employees of Hentschke Bau and Bendl HTS have achieved a construction masterpiece. They rose to the challenge of using as yet unregulated, newly developed building products to create an aesthetically sophisticated prefabricated and in-situ concrete structure using little-tried, sophisticated construction techniques. Through their great expertise, craftsmanship and pronounced innovative strength, they breathed life into the carbon reinforced concrete construction method". The architect AIB - Architekten Ingenieure Bautzen responsible for the general planning, Marén Kupke, also expressed her satisfaction: "We took on the challenge with enthusiasm and I am very pleased to see the completely new carbon reinforced concrete building we developed realised in such high quality. This was only possible thanks to the great cooperation between the planners involved, the building owner and the companies carrying out the work. For the foreman, Heiko Panzner from Hentschke Bau "it was an exciting journey and a challenge at the same time. Already during the millimetre-precise production of the spatially curved formwork for the TWIST, we constantly expanded our existing know-how. The installation and processing of the sprayed concrete then demanded new ideas and sweaty techniques at every step of the work, but we were able to master them perfectly. Now we are very happy about the result and proud of our part in it.
The CUBE is the first building in the world to use exclusively non-metallic reinforcement, primarily carbon. "Carbon reinforced concrete is not only the new 'concrete without side effects', but carbon concrete also enables new, freer forms and can give building a new swing" - this swing was literally given to the building by star architect Gunter Henn, because at the beginning of the project a cuboid-shaped building was planned. This cuboid BOX was finally expanded to include two TWIST shells, which simultaneously serve as a wall and roof structure. An extraordinary symbiosis of two elements, which on the one hand exemplify the economic efficiency - the walls of the BOX were produced in a prefabrication plant - , on the other hand the TWIST shells illustrate that carbon reinforced concrete can be shaped almost limitlessly into any design. What started as an idea detached from feasibility and other constraints, will soon result in a completed building. Hentschke Bau was responsible for the challenging and very complex construction of the TWIST: "With the CUBE, we have laid the foundation for a future construction method. In doing so, we pushed the limits of what is possible with the material carbon reinfroced concrete.
The building represents a milestone in the history of construction and is a wonderful example of how carbon reinforced concrete can be used to make many new challenging projects possible," says Jens Kretzschmar, the responsible project manager. The company Bendl HTS, on the other hand, was responsible for the construction of the BOX: "With the construction of the BOX, we are proving that an economic and mass-suitable construction method with the innovative material carbon reinforced concrete is already possible now, and with the automated production processes, we can open the way to widespread use" - says Ludwig Pickert.
The next step will be further work, which includes the installation of the window fronts, the interior finishing and the building services. These activities, the design of the outdoor area and the furnishing of the building are expected to continue until the summer. The inauguration of the building is planned for September 2022.