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Category 1: Buildings
The new building in Kalkbreite, Zurich, is situated
along the SBB railway line between Badenerstrasse,
Kalkbreitestrasse and Urselweg. The building has the
total length of about 125 metres and the maximum
width of 70 metres. It consists of a basement, the
ground floor, six upper storeys and the building
equipment rooms on top of the roof.
The major element of the building is the construction
of a tram shed above the tram stabling area of
the Zurich public transport authority, which will be
enclosed and covered by the new building.
The building will be mainly residential. The storeys
at the same level as the tram shed are planned to be
used for offices, cinemas, shops, restaurants, etc.
The necessary technical and storage areas will be
provided in the basement.
The new building is designed in such a way that the
tram shed will form a coherent unit with the main
building both in its visual appearance and in its
structure.
The project was extremely complicated and difficult
in several respects. The first problem was the highly
complex geometry resulting from the shape of the
plot, the necessary position of the tram shed and
the variety of uses which needed to be included. On
the other hand, the load-bearing structure was very
difficult, mainly because of the integration of the tram
shed into the building. Above the exit rails from the
tram depot, for example, the building must span the
full width of the tram shed. This made it necessary to
insert four solid steel trusses, which are integrated into
the walls of the building. The middle trusses extend for
three storeys, meaning that they are about 12 metres
high.
The tram shed itself is covered by pre-tensioned
prefabricated girders.
The tram stabling area had to be built two years before
the construction of the main building. Therefore, all the
necessary foundation work and building pit systems
had to be executed beforehand. The foundation works
within the tram stabling consist of deep bored piles to
transfer the concentrated loads from the tram shed
into the ground. The building itself is standing on a
shallow foundation, which is located in stable gravel.
As a result of the sophisticated geometry, we were
especially dependent on an effective and professional
CAD program. Nemetschek Allplan fulfilled this
requirement. The creation of the plans in 3D was
successful, and the same method will also be used for
future plans.
Residential Building with Tram Depot, Kalkbreite - Zürich, Switzerland
Software: Allplan Engineering
