Combining its ACS self-climbing and RCS rail climbing technologies, Peri has developed a new formwork solution that is playing a key role in an upcoming financial hub in Riyadh.

01 December 2009

PERI is playing a key role at the core – literally – of a new financial hub being built in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The German manufacturer’s climbing formwork is currently helping shape up the cores of a number of towers within the King Abdullah Financial District.

With a system combination comprising ACS self-climbing and RCS rail climbing technologies, the optimal solution to meet project-specific requirements was created, says a spokesman for Peri. The planning took into consideration the varying storey heights, upward tapering walls and a particularly short construction period.

In close co-operation with Peri engineers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Peri Weissenhorn developed climbing formwork solutions for five reinforced cores in four multi-storey buildings. The concept is based on the two climbing systems, which have been adapted to meet the geometrical and static boundary conditions of the structures as well as the requirements of Riyadh-based Al Seif Engineering, the contractor.

For the core of the tallest building – an office tower with a total height of around 150 m – the ACS self-climbing formwork is being used. The RCS rail climbing system will be employed in the construction of a second lower office tower, which will stand at a height of 85 m. This modular construction system has also been selected for the three cores of the two residential towers that will eventually rise to heights of 100 m and 70 m, respectively. The standard individual storey height in the office buildings and the residential towers is about 4 m and 3.4 m, respectively.

“All the formwork scaffolding is combined with Vario GT 24 girder wall formwork, which can easily be adapted to the different storey heights as well as wall breaks without any problems,” says the spokesman. “The cores of the two tallest towers are climbed with hydraulic support; for the two other buildings, the climbing formwork is lifted from floor to floor by means of a crane.”

System combination

Elaborating on the systems used on the project, he says: “ACS self-climbing formwork has been chosen for the construction of the 150-m-high office block. The rail-guided self-climbing formwork scaffolding, complete with strongbacks and formwork carriages, will require a total of 40 climbing cycles before reaching the top of the reinforced concrete core. The climbing rail scaled in advance is then secured automatically in the climbing shoe and carries the system during climbing operations. The control mechanism and mechanics of the ACS system are robust and reliable.

“For all the other building cores, RCS rail climbing technology is being used. The modular construction system can be used for a wide range of applications in climbing technology, which means that the use of special parts is reduced to a minimum. In Riyadh, the RCS is used as formwork scaffolding. The Vario GT 24 girder wall formwork is securely mounted on a formwork carriage and can be retracted for reinforcement work by up to 90 cm – without requiring a crane. For supporting the formwork on the carriage, SRU steel walers and SLS spindles are installed and used as strongbacks and adjustable struts, respectively. Thus, complete units can be easily and quickly moved in one crane lift.

“With the climbing rail, the scaffold unit is always connected to the building throughout the entire climbing procedure by the climbing shoes. During strong winds, the RCS climbing unit is kept in a very stable position and cannot drift from side to side, which means climbing is fast and safe at all times.

“The RCS system also offers a shaft solution for the inner walls, which is used for cores with large dimensions. Here, the RCS climbing rail serves as a platform beam. The rails can be continuously telescoped, which means the lengths of two beams positioned opposite each other are able to be easily adjusted to suit the shaft dimensions and subsequently connected to a working platform.”

Slab formwork

Apart from the formwork systems for the reinforced concrete cores, Peri is also supplying the slab formwork including the required support. Around 10,000 sq m of Skydeck aluminium panel slab formwork – which can be quickly and easily installed due to its lightweight individual components – is being used, according to the spokesman.

“In particular, the systematic and virtually self-explanatory shuttering procedure has proved to have been a tremendous advantage according to the site management: these easy-to-install systems help the building contractor enormously to realise and maintain the very tight construction schedule despite the lack of available skilled workers. In addition, due to the possibility of early striking, thanks to the drophead, material utilisation is accelerated and on-site material requirements are reduced,” he adds.

Multiprop props carry the slab formwork of the standard floors. For the larger ceiling heights in the ground floors, two props are coupled together and connected with MRK frames to form high load-bearing supporting towers.

Safer, easier and faster

“Development of the formwork solution took place within a short space of time due to the very tight schedule: in the early summer of this year, only a few weeks into the planning stage, the first system components were delivered to the construction site. With this, Peri made an extremely convincing and impressive case in the kingdom, completely in keeping with its maxim – safer, easier, faster,” the spokesman concludes.

Financial capital

The Financial District project, expected to be completed in 2012 after a construction period of only three years, will help Saudi Arabia strengthen its position as the financial capital of the Middle East.

Offering a floor space of some 3.3 million sq m, the project will boast high-quality residential buildings and leisure facilities on a 16-hectare area.

In addition, the new district includes a monorail and giant skywalks – large bridges in the sky linking multi-storey buildings – in order to optimise the quality of living and minimise the use of cars.

The financial district will be the headquarters of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Saudi Arabian Stock Exchange (Tadawul), and will also be the home for financial institutions and other service providers such as accountants, auditors, lawyers, analysts, rating agencies, consultants, and IT providers.

The area will also have a financial academy for 5,000 students.

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