Karlsruhe school extension with 3 PASCHAL systems in a short construction period, implemented cost-effectively to create a building shell to the highest standard of quality

The three related sections of this build ─ the Karl-Stockmeyer School, the Schulmensa [Refectory] and the office and seminar building ─ involved the use of 2400 m³ of concrete with just three formwork and shoring systems from PASCHAL. The quality of the concrete surface achieved was as impressive as the precision achieved in the implementation of this architecture, to such a degree that, during the building work, the customer considered leaving the interior concrete wall surfaces visible.

The TTR circular formwork combined with LOGO.3 formwork on the extension of the Karl-Stockmeyerschule in Karlsruhe.

Expansion and centralisation

Directly beside the Parzivalschule in the Hagefeld district of Karlsruhe, a one- to two-storey school building with basement level, a school refectory and the 3-storey office and seminar building, also with full basement have been erected as a solid construction on the basis of the award-winning draft design concept devised by Peters Schmitter freie Architekten from Stuttgart who won the first prize in 2012.
The new administration building with a gross floor plan area of 2139 m² will become the place of business for Freunde der Erziehungskunst (Friends of the Art of Education), and will bring together all of the employees in Karlsruhe under a single roof. With the two-storey school extension covering a gross floor plan area of 1974 m² and a school refectory with a gross floor plan area of 348 m², the existing Parzival school complex will be expanded after the 2017 summer vacation with the addition of the lower grade building for the Karl-Stockmeyer Schule. This specification is associated with great time pressure because it was not possible to postpone the completion deadline, despite the commencement of building work being delayed by the approval process.
The construction company responsible, Weisenburger Bau GmbH, was not able to start building work until 2 August 2016, but was nonetheless able to complete the building shell construction of the office and seminar building by December 2016.
This made foreman Thomas Frank and site manager Erwin Doll optimistic about the ability of their skilled team to meet the handover date for the refectory and the building extension.

Straight shear wall on left using LOGO.3, rounded interior wall with TTR Trapezoidal girder formwork.

Three formwork systems from PASCHAL were in use on all three sections of this construction site.

The foundations, the lift pits and lift shafts were built using the LOGO.3 formwork system from PASCHAL.
LOGO.3 formwork was also used to shape the external and internal walls, and on the polygonal floor plans with radii of 15.21 m to 37.14 m. Because of the specified roof shapes, the wall formwork was stepped at each roof storey to create wall copings that blended seamlessly with the roof pitch. In the same way, sloping beams were used to transfer the weight of the roof constructions employing the LOGO.3 formwork system from PASCHAL.
The practice-based element range with LOGO.3 played an important role here. The smallest element used by Weisenburger Bau GmbH measures 20 x 90 cm while the largest LOGO.3 element measures 240 x 340 cm. The experts from PASCHAL planned the required adapter components in the form of system-compatible plastic fillers. Even a very small rounded room section was created using LOGO.3, including an adjusted wooden insert also supplied by PASCHAL, and was cemented up to full room height in a single operation.
The continuously adjustable circular Trapezoidal girder formwork TTR was used on about 200 m² of the more tightly rounded reinforced concrete walls with radii less than 10 m. Wall heights of up to 6.50 m were concreted on the top floor.
Along the free slab edge of the office building, 17 linear metres of the KBK 180 climbing platform provided a safe workplace.
The PASCHAL Deck system was rented for the 3304 m² slab surface area of school, refectory and office block.

Never change a winning team

With a tightly coordinated and professional schedule, implementation planning was a collaborative process between the igp engineers from Tragwerksplanung GmbH, the production planners from Weisenburger Bau GmbH and the formwork planning specialists from PASCHAL. Plant drawings from Weisenburger Bau GmbH provided the basis upon which PASCHAL elaborated the quotation and drew up the plans for the formwork. On this basis, the most economical way of creating the building shell was found, with a few assumptions. Firstly, that there should be no friction losses during the construction phase, either through the need to adapt the formwork or due to logistical factors.
The foreman responsible, Thomas Frank, and Site Manager Erwin Doll are very satisfied with the level of cooperation with PASCHAL, and with its formwork and supporting systems.
The construction company Weisenburger Bau GmbH has been one of PASCHAL's core customers for many years, and has carried out building work on several occasions for "Freunde der Erziehungskunst R. Steiner e.V." [Friends of the Art of Education] and for the Verein zur Förderung junger Menschen e.V. [Association for the Personal Development of Young People].
Since the construction company was also committed on this project to working with dependable partners, and since the Weisenburger staff know PASCHAL for its quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness, PASCHAL was involved on these three phases of the build with its formwork planning, formwork and supporting systems.

A top-class formwork planning as added value for construction company and customers

The formwork experts from PASCHAL, with CAD assistance, implemented the -reinforced concrete structures requiring formwork so perfectly that no fillers needed to be manufactured on-site for the vertical reinforced concrete structural components. When planning the formwork, the formwork and supporting material was optimised so effectively that 600 m² LOGO.3, 200 m² TTR and 1221 m² of PASCHAL Deck as well as 17 linear metres of climbing platform KBK 180 were all that was required for the slab edge on the office building to implement the reinforced concrete structures for the three sections of the build, extending over a total gross room area of 17 204 m³.

Parties involved in the construction project

Draft design planning: PETERS SCHMITTER FREIE ARCHITEKTEN, Stuttgart, architect Elke Schmitter

Implementation planning, earthworks and building shell: Weisenburger Bau GmbH, head office in Rastatt and business premises in Karlsruhe, Bensheim, Freiburg, Stuttgart and Frankfurt; www.weisenburger.de

Planning of structural framework: igp Ingenieure für Tragwerksplanung GmbH, Karlsruhe; www.igpweb.de

Formwork planning and formwork supplier: PASCHAL, Steinach; www.paschal.de