Residential in Rotterdam

Zonneveld Ingenieurs B.V. – Netherlands

Building use

Other

Country/Region

Netherlands

Overview

The building is the tallest residential tower in the BeNeLux region and it is entirely prefabricated making it the tallest prefab building in the world. The building was erected by creating a “factory in the sky” which is an enclosed steel structure that climbs up the building as it gets built, allowing a controlled and risk-free environment for the construction workers.

Basic information (construction date, number of stories, gross floor area, adopted design code, engineer(s), Contractor(s), etc.)

Construction date: 2018-2022
Number of stories: 61
Gross floor area: –
Adopted design code: Eurocode
Engineer(s): BAM Advies & Engineering; Zonneveld Ingenieurs B.V., RWDI
Contractor(s): LSI, AM & Amvest, BAM Bouw en Techniek

Issue and/or innovation

Due to the peculiar construction technique, the top storeys of the tower could not be built within the “factory in the sky” because of the two setbacks of the building perimeter. Consequently, a top-down construction sequence had to be created for these 5 floors that host the panoramic restaurant and the MEP spaces. These elements were thus built on top of the building and then jacked-up with hydraulic jacks by opening the roof of the “factory in the sky”.

Reason for composite solution

The entire building is built with prefabricated concrete elements. The part of the building built top-down is made with a composite solution due to the easier assembly and lighter construction that allows the lifting of the various floors with relative ease.

Specific solution/technical details

The construction solution is relatively simple: steel columns and beams, with a composite steel deck (corrugated sheet and compressive concrete layer. Interestingly, the entire construction was done (including façade and internal finishes before lifting-up the floor to allow construction of the lower level. The composite floor system is made with HEA300 in the main span and HEA220 in the secondary beam direction. The decking is made with a corrugated sheet of 1,2 mm and a depth of 200mm filled with C30/37 concrete.