Institute excursion to Copenhagen

This year's institute excursion took IBB employees to Copenhagen. The city has a lot to offer in terms of architecture and construction, so we were treated to many impressive large construction sites focussing on logistics, maritime construction, sustainability and international project management during these four days.

We started with a harbour tour with many interesting facts about the historical and architectural development of the city. Escaping the rainy weather, we visited the Danish Architecture Centre (DAC), which offers a comprehensive review of the history of Danish architecture as well as a highly interesting special exhibition on recycling and the circular economy.

The second day of the excursion took us to the south of Denmark to Europe's largest infrastructure project: the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel. 18.1 km of road and rail tunnels are being realised as immersed tunnels. A construction project that is unrivalled in terms of its scope, complex framework conditions and logistical challenges. In addition to visiting the exhibition centre in Rødbyhavn and the Pilen viewing platform, we were also able to take a look behind the scenes at the production site and experience the manufacture of the 217 m long tunnel elements.

Day 3 began with a trip to Ørestad, where Züblin Denmark, together with Züblin Timber, is building Copenhagen's first new church in 30 years. The design by Henning Larsen is being built entirely in timber and combines impressive architecture with sustainable materials. During our visit, we also learnt a lot about international cooperation and cultural differences between Germany and Denmark. In the afternoon, we were welcomed by the company COBOD, market leader in the provision of solutions for concrete 3D printing. At several stations, we were able to visit Denmark's first 3D printed building and gain many insights into the technology, challenges and innovative solutions.

On the last day, despite travelling back, there was still time for two very special projects. On the one hand, we had the opportunity to visit the Lynetteholm project. A new peninsula is being built on the water between Refshaleøen and Nordhavn, which, in addition to absorbing excavated earth from various construction sites and protecting the city from storms and high tides, will also provide space for up to 35,000 inhabitants. We were able to visit the construction site of Per Aarsleff, who are building the surrounding embankment. In the afternoon, we were welcomed by BESIX and had the opportunity to visit the Nordhavn Tunnel. With a length of 1.4 km and an open tunnel construction method, this is a highly complex project where we were able to learn a lot about the challenges of maritime construction during ongoing harbour operations with high groundwater levels.

On behalf of all our colleagues, we would like to thank the companies that welcomed us and shared their exciting construction projects with us.

•  Wayss & Freytag, Dr Klaus Rieker
•  Max Bögl, Dirk Assmann
•  Züblin DK, Christian Bajlum-Busch
•  COBOD, Henrik Lund-Nielsen
•  Per Aarsleff, Jonas Gjering-Frederiksen
•  BESIX, Björn Hoffmann

The traditional InFEx takes place every one to two years and serves as further training for employees and offers the Institute of Construction Management the opportunity to further develop the range of courses and research work and to establish international contacts.