High-Rise Construction in Katowice: Formwork Technology for Skyscrapers
The SKY+ urban development is structured in two clearly defined phases. The first phase includes three residential buildings, each with 15 storeys, providing 316 apartments. The second phase also comprises three buildings, but introduces a landmark element: Building A, a 36-storey tower above ground level, matching the height of another tower on Olimpijska Street in Katowice where ULMA solutions have also been used. The complex will offer a wide range of services to its users, including shops and cafés, as well as communal leisure areas such as yoga spaces, shared areas, an open-air cinema and landscaped gardens.
For the execution of the main load-bearing elements of Building A— specifically the two stair and lift cores together with the service shafts—the ATR Self-Climbing System was selected, equipped with integrated hydraulic cylinders with a lifting capacity of 13 tonnes each. The combination of the ORMA Modular Formwork and the ATR System was lifted in a single operation without the use of a crane, a decisive advantage in high-rise construction, where crane availability often becomes a critical factor.
In two sections of the ATR System, concreting platforms and brackets configured with MK System components were incorporated to suspend the ORMA panles. The formwork was connected to the MK Waler by means of carriages fitted with rollers and chain hoists, allowing it to be lifted approximately 50 cm above the slab and retracted to the required distance from the wall. Openings were provided on the upper platforms for the installation of stair access. In addition, one section included a specially designed fourth lower platform to facilitate the handling of the formwork for the transverse walls constructed in the second phase.
To ensure worker safety and provide protection against adverse weather conditions, ULMA supplied HWS perimeter protection screens. This system allows work to continue regardless of weather conditions and acts as a collective protection solution against the risk of falls of people or objects. The installed assembly consists of 22 perimeter screens, one access platform and one storage platform.
For the slabs, and in accordance with the client’s requirements, ENKOFLEX Timber Beam Formwork was used. Walls and square and rectangular columns were executed using the ORMA Modular Formwork. The overall solution was completed with the BMK Configurable Climbing Bracket, compatible with ORMA panels, which was used for the construction of the building’s perimeter walls.
The use of ULMA’s formwork systems ensured a weekly construction cycle per floor, a key requirement for the successful delivery of high-rise projects, where productivity and schedule control are critical.
≫ Find out all the details of the project in this vídeo.
