The facade elements are suspended from relatively long cantilevers/outriggers fixed to steel brackets. The steel brackets are further fastened to the concrete floors by Halfen rails or anchors. Each box element has a height of approximately 26 ft; a width of 8 ft, 10 inches; a fixed support for the vertical and horizontal loads; and two additional roller supports for horizontal loads.
RFEM Model
The model is a combination of member, surface, and solid elements with several releases and hinges to absorb tolerances and accurately model the slotted holes. The front T-sections (posts and beams) are modeled with member elements and the outriggers with solid elements to ensure correct force distribution between the front beam elements and the secondary supporting structure. The brackets are displayed as surface elements.
In the locations where screw elements intersect surfaces or solids, average regions have been defined to properly distribute the stresses. The anchor points utilize the concrete surface’s pressure points to withstand the large downward force due to self-weight. At the fixed supports, spring stiffnesses were defined to determine the allowable concrete stress and the tensile force acting on the Halfen rails. At the roller point supports, difficulties arose due to the relatively thin 8-inch concrete floor, which were solved by modifying the system in the direction of these supports' slotted holes.
Rümmele Bauingenieur GmbH drew this conclusion: "The user-friendly interface of RFEM made it possible to easily make the necessary changes, which saved us a lot of time in finding practical solutions."
| Location | Alexanderstraße & Voltairestraße 10179 Berlin, Germany |
| Investor | Volt Berlin GmbH & Co KG |
| Planning | J. MAYER H. und Partner, Architekten mbB www.jmayerh.de |
| Facade Contractor | Metallbau Früh GmbH www.metallbau-frueh.com |
| Facade Engineering | Rümmele Bauingenieur GmbH www.ruemmelefacades.com |
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