Exclusive residential complex High Park with apartments and retail outlets on Potsdam Square in Berlin

The High Park Berlin residential complex is being built on the last remaining building gap on Potsdam Square, close to Brandenburg Gate in the German capital Berlin. Two towers and a block with up to 14 storeys will house 165 apartments, 38 boarding apartments and 9 retail stores. Contractor is long-time MEVA rental client KoHa.

Metro runs through building site

The construction site is special in more ways than one: The various building sections are being built alongside and above metro line 2, which runs high above ground along this section, and its metro station. In addition a corridor must be left for a future commuter line. This requires high retaining walls along the metro line to support the 22 m long beams that will carry the superstructure spanning the two rail lines and connecting the building blocks to the left and right of them. Careful planning is crucial because the Metro runs its daily schedule right through the site and building process!

14 m high retaining wall

The walls of the building blocks are poured using the wall formwork system Mammut 350, the beams rely on StarTec. Slabs are poured conventionally with the MevaFlex slab formwork that on some floors is supported by MEP shoring towers up to 9 m high. One of the major challenges on this site is the 14 m high retaining wall between the metro and future commuter line. Large Mammut 350 panels, ganged several times, are supported by Triplex heavy duty braces.

22 m long beams precast on site

How do you transport 22 m long slab beams for the superstructure through Berlin’s notoriously congested city traffic? Simple answer: You don’t! In fact, they are precast on site in one go for reasons of cost-effectiveness and logistics. The hand-set formwork systems EcoAs and AluStar prove perfect for the job on account of their flexibility and easy handling.