At height of 109 m and situated west of the World Trade Center, the control tower became
the new landmark of the Vienna International Airport. The control tower includes an integrated
office building housing the Austrian air traffic control (Austro Control GesmbH). Since its
completion in 2005, the new tower represents the technical heart of the air traffic control
in Vienna.
In order to minimize settlements, the tower was constructed with a combined pile-plate
foundation. To accomplish this, 34 bored piles (Ø 1.2 m) with a depth of up to 35 m below
surface were first of all manufactured. Secondly, on top of them, a reinforced concrete plate
with a thickness of 2.5 m was placed.
The building pit had a depth of up to 12 m. |
For this project, BGG Consult was commissioned with the geotechnical and hydrogeological
consulting during all design and building phases. In order to gather essential information
regarding the underground, a subsoil exploration campaign was coordinated and executed.
Based on the results of this investigation, geotechnical expert's reports were compiled that
were required for the application of the building permit, the preparation of the tender, and
the planning of the construction.
During construction, geotechnical assessments and evaluations were conducted on site. |
Bored piles:
In the underground of the construction site, alternating sequences of sand and silt exist
in the tertiary sediments, resulting in confined groundwater systems. During manufacturing
of the bored piles, special attention had to be given to this situation. In order to avoid
massive uplift of sand, the drilling had to be carried out under a water load. Thanks to
the thorough geotechnical evaluation, this necessity was already identified during the tender
planning phase and could therefore be implemented without requiring additional expenses.
Securing of the building pit:
At two sides of the building a control channel exists that is highly susceptible to displacements.
In order to minimize possible displacements, anchored bored piles were used for the slope of the
pit. Furthermore, concrete girders, with a force-fit connection to the channel wall, were inserted.
By utilizing this method, the displacements remained successfully below the specified limits.
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