Fire, Water, Earth, …GEDA!
GEDA-Dechentreiter GmbH & Co.KG, the construction hoist company based in Bavaria, Germany, has supplied eight equipment units for the construction of the new Five Elements office building for the company Statoil in the Norwegian capital Oslo.
In the outskirts of Oslo an office building surpassing all superlatives is being created. The Norwegian oil group Statoil has been seeking an alternative for its two offices in Oslo since 2008. The current lease contracts for the office premises in Majorstua and Vaekero terminate in autumn 2012. Therefore by then a solution had to be found so that the operations of the Oslo company could be run from one single office.
The objective was to create a future-oriented office solution with state-of-the-art technical facilities and a unique architecture. Finally the Oslo-based architects' practice a-lab was commissioned with the planning of the office complex.
The nine-storey building adjacent to the beach covers a surface area of 65,000 m² and is 39 metres high. The office premises will accommodate about 2,000 employees.
Unusual architecture
This building is by no means a standard office building. The architecture of the complex has created a very special working atmosphere. It consists of five oblong building parts, each 140 metres long, and 12.5 metres or three stories high. Each building wing symbolically represents one of the five elements of fire, water, earth, metal and wood, hence "The Five Elements". The layout of the individual elements was inspired by the traditional "Mikado" game. They are positioned staggered next to or above each other and form an open atrium.
Environmental considerations played a very important role in the planning of the building project. The building structure has environmentally-friendly and energy-saving solutions for heating and ventilation. A landscaped park has also been created around the building.
Even before its completion, the extravagant architecture of "The Five Elements" office complex was in a class of its own. In 2009 the construction project won the "Future Commercial Price" at the "World Architecture Festival".
It goes without saying that the unique design of the new Statoil office building also presented specific challenges to the construction engineering on-site.
The contract for the provision of the height access technology was awarded to the company Utleiecompagniet AS (Uco), who have been working closely together with the German construction hoist manufacturer GEDA-Dechentreiter GmbH & Co.KG for many years. Together the two firms developed perfect solutions for anchorage, ground pressure, service and maintenance. "The Five Elements" building site was supplied with a total of eight GEDA equipment units which were aligned precisely to the on-site circumstances.
5x GEDA Multilift P18 Comfort
Five GEDA Multilift P18 Comfort are being used in "The Five Elements" building. The lift is mainly used for the safe and reliable transportation of personnel. The fully operable device is delivered as a single-unit, with precise dimensions for container loading and for HGV transport. The landing of the mast sections can then be started immediately on-site without any cabin components having to be assembled, thus ensuring a fast and smooth assembly. The standard, automatic control can, as an option, be replaced by the even more user-friendly landing call box. For safety reasons the 2.5 metre high enclosure is both electrically and mechanically locked which means that the enclosure door can only be opened when the device is located in the ground station. Due to the two-master system low anchoring forces operate. The GEDA Multilift P18 is designed for the transportation of up to 20 persons. The lift scores with its lifting height of up to 100 metres and its maximum load capacity of 2,000 kg. The five GEDA Multilift P18 Comfort devices on the "The Five Elements" office building have a lifting height of 17 and 26 metres respectively and transport persons and materials upwards at a speed of 32 m/min to 40 m/min.
1x GEDA PH 2032 650 Single
A GEDA PH-Series personnel and material hoist has also been installed on "The Five Elements" office building in Oslo. The PH 2032 650 is ideally suited here due to its load capacity of 2,000 kg / 25 persons, a hoisting speed of 40 m/min controlled by a frequency converter and a maximum lifting height of 400 metres. GEDA and Uco worked together to manufacture particularly strong concrete foundations specifically for the construction project in Oslo so that the first anchorage could be positioned at a height of 21 metres. The lifting height of the PH 2032 650 in Oslo is 39 metres. The already known safety features such as the speed-dependent GEDA safety gear, overload protection, as well as limit switches at the top and bottom levels, are of course part of the standard package. As with all GEDA rack and pinion lifts, the lubrication equipment is included as standard in the PH 2032 650 Single. This ensures significantly lower wear and tear on the toothed rack and pinions.
2x GEDA 2 PK
The beams for the upper building parts of "The Five Elements" office building are lifted and assembled using Northern Europe's largest mobile crane.
In use on the construction site are two GEDA 2 PK special purpose lifts for cranes which transport personnel in a very short time to the work sites at great height. This avoids risky and strenuous climbing being necessary. The GEDA 2 PK is designed to transport two persons and has a load capacity of 200 kg. Thus, as necessary, material required for maintenance tasks can also be transported upwards. Hoisting speed is 24 m/min with a maximum lifting height for the lift of 120 metres. Safety aspects are of course the focus in these operations. In an emergency, unconscious or sick crane operators can be brought to safety in a very short time. Assembling the GEDA 2 PK is easy and effortless. Once the base unit is assembled and anchored, the aluminium ladder sections weighing 22 kg, are installed through the open cabin roof and, using the patented quick lock, assembled very easily and without screws. Special rail anchoring provides tension-free attachment to the crane mast. The lift is operated from the control panel in the cage. An option to control externally is also available.
Safety on all levels
The Multilift P18 and PH 2032 650 devices on the "The Five Elements" office building each have three stop positions. The safety at entry and exit points is ensured by the GEDA "Comfort" landing level safety gates. The gates can be rotated by 180° and can be set as either left-opening or right-opening. They are known for their simple and uncomplicated assembly. All parts are hot dip galvanized. Through the locking mechanism developed and patented by GEDA, the landing level safety gates comply with the requirements of the latest Machinery Directive.
In use until autumn 2012
The Statoil Group will take over the building on 1 September 2012 and will move into the new offices on 15 October. The eight GEDA devices will continue to carry out their work at the most unusual office building in Oslo until its completion in autumn 2012.
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