New lease of life for industrial landmark

A construction project that symbolises the energy revolution. The historic gasometer in Berlin’s Schöneberg district is being transformed into a state-of-the-art office tower and will become the new landmark of the EUREF Campus district. As part of the conversion work, the listed building will be gutted within its steel frame and rebuilt. The versatile PERI formwork and scaffolding systems are instrumental in ensuring that the refurbishment and shell construction work is implemented quickly and professionally.

Since 2008, a commercial and science campus with 150 resident companies has been built in the area around the decommissioned low-pressure gasometer on the site of the former municipal gas works. This pilot district for the climate-neutral city of the future is being developed by EUREF AG (EUREF stands for European Energy Forum). Numerous listed clinker and brick buildings have already been refurbished in an energy-efficient manner and complemented by architecturally and energetically state-of-the-art new buildings. This future-oriented site in Berlin is where more than 5,000 people are now researching, learning about, and working on energy management, the mobility transition, and climate protection.

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Gasometer becomes the new landmark of the EUREF Campus

The gasometer is the last building to be refurbished. The 78-metre-high steel structure of the industrial landmark was being used as an imposing location for TV presenter Günther Jauch’s talk shows. It is now being converted into an office and conference centre. Maintaining a respectful clearance of one metre, the grey steel structure provides the framework for the new circular building inside. This way, the historical landmark is preserved, while having new life breathed into it at the same time. The new design is reminiscent of the former telescopic vessel that moved up and down within the steel skeleton. Around 28,000 m2 of office space is being constructed across 15 floors, with a sky lounge and publicly accessible roof terrace at a height of 66 m as the finishing touches. Large glazed areas in the facade allow for a lot of transparency and natural light in the building. In future, around 2,000 Deutsche Bahn employees will press ahead with the digitalisation of German railways from this setting.

The turnkey conversion project is being carried out by the contractor WOLFF & MÜLLER, as has been the case with numerous other buildings on the EUREF campus. As part of the well-coordinated team, the engineers from the PERI branch office in Berlin were brought in again to work on the Gasometer project, taking care of the challenges relating to formwork and scaffolding. After all, the shell of the high-rise building was to be constructed at the same time as refurbishment work was being carried out on the historic steel structure that surrounds it – in the tightest of spaces and, to the greatest extent possible, without interfering with the surrounding area.

Shell construction and refurbishment side by side – the main challenge

After a short planning period of only three months, the shell construction work began in August 2021. At the same time, the construction team started the refurbishment work for the historic steel structure. The distance between the edge of the building shell and the surrounding steel structure was just 1.50 m – but the experts from PERI found a solution that was as practical as it was elegant. With the PERI UP Scaffolding Kit, they designed a scaffolding solution that closely followed the shape of the circular steel structure across the entire height. Completely enclosed inside and out to protect the surrounding area, the scaffold was moved around the gasometer in sections in a clockwise direction during the refurbishment phase. This made it possible to decoat one steel segment after the other using the sandblasting technique and then apply new corrosion prevention at the same time as the shell construction work was taking place. As a result, the surrounding area was largely spared from excessive construction noise and dirt until the refurbishment work was completed.

Almost imperceptibly, because it was concealed within the lower steel ring and partly behind the PERI UP Working and Safety Scaffold, the new building sprouted upwards simultaneously, one floor at a time. An entire standard floor was completed every two weeks. With the MAXIMO Wall Formwork System and SKYDECK Slab Formwork, it was also possible to realise the numerous architectural concrete surfaces on the walls and slabs quickly and professionally. To cover the additional demand for formwork elements, the contractor took the opportunity to combine PERI purchase and rental elements. Protected by the surrounding RCS Climbing Protection Panel, it was possible to work quickly and safely on the building shell at any height, sheltered from the weather. The single-sided tie system of the MAXIMO Wall Formwork and the easy-to-handle SKYDECK Slab Formwork System were instrumental in keeping the project on schedule without any difficulty.

System solutions from a single source

The building shell was completed in November 2022, two months earlier than planned. This has resulted in several advantages: The shell construction and finishing work phases have now been staggered, which simplifies logistics on the cramped construction site considerably. And completing this stage ahead of schedule also shortened the rental period for the formwork elements, meaning that the budget for the building shell was adhered to without any difficulty.

Therefore, formwork and scaffolding systems that make work safer and simpler prove their worth, especially on challenging projects such as the Gasometer Schöneberg. This is complemented by efficient project planning with coordinated solutions from a single source, as offered by PERI: The formwork and scaffolding manufacturer also contributed its expertise to this construction project as a digital construction partner; from virtual planning for the formwork and scaffolding, to implementation on the construction site with a wide range of tools, right through to assistance with the use of BIM processes and technologies.