At the beginning of September the MQ Libelle, a modern pavilion for use as a culture and event site, was opened on the roof of the Leopold Museum, which is part of the Museum Quarter in Vienna’s city centre.

Thanks to the transparent facade design and the ample roof terrace areas the guests will be offered an impressive view on Vienna’s city centre.

MQ Libelle was designed by the architects Laurids and Manfred Ortner, who have realized the area of the Museum Quarter area in its current form. Artistic interventions: installation pools of light by Brigitte Kowanz and facade design of the pavilion by Eva Schlegel.

Client. Museumsquartier Errichtungs- und Betriebsges.m.b.H.

Services. Design-build, tender procedure, construction coordination, site supervision, check engineering according to Vienna’s building code, building dynamics & vibration protection

The 700 m long section of Neubaugasse between Mariahilfer Strasse and Burggasse was converted into a shared zone and opened on 3 September 2020.

In this new shared zone the bus line 13A as well as the bicycle traffic is possible in both directions. Thus, the stops were also newly designed. Green areas – partly also with trees – as well as seating , pavement cafés, trellises, bike parking areas and loading zones were established on both sides of the driving surface. Parking spaces are no longer provided.

The objective of the newly designed shared zone Neubaugasse is to increase the quality of stay and therefore to considerably promote Neubaugasse as a shopping street. Above all the integrated green elements shall bring about an essential improvement of the urban climate. This new green “backbone” will create a haven of tranquility during the coming extension of the underground railway in the district. After the construction works this quality shall also be implemented in the neighbouring road sections.

The second section between Burggasse and Lerchenfelder Strasse is planned for 2021.

Client. Wiener Linien / MA 28

Planning of free spaces. DnD Landschaftsplanung ZT KG

Project services. Traffic design, technical surface design, information of citizens

An institution for health prevention is erected in Sitzenberg-Reidling near the Renaissance castle Sitzenberg. The centre for prevention and preventative health care accommodates 120 single rooms for patients as well as training and seminar rooms and an indoor swimming pool with wellness and spa-area. The structural work is almost completed. During these days the shelter for the approx. 14-meter cantilevered guest wing is being dismantled.

From the beginning of the project there was close cooperation with the planning partners with a central 3D model. It serves as digital basis for communication and discussion. The geometry of the building is directly imported from the model into the calculation software for structural analysis and building physics. Furthermore, the construction plans are based on it.

Client. Versicherungsanstalt öffentlich Bediensteter

Services in joint venture with F+P. general consultant, structural design, tender, health & safety engineering, measurement, building physics, architecture

In Wieselburg currently the whole traffic of the B 25 road runs right through the town centre. The new bypass shall relieve the town regarding through traffic and increase the quality of life for the residents as well as the security needs of the road users in the town centre of Wieselburg in future. The traffic relieve thanks to the new bypass amounts to up to 50%. A further declared target is the provision of high-quality infrastructure for the economic development in the northern “Mostviertel”.

The bypass of Wieselburg branches off at the existing B 25 road at Holzinger Berg at km 7.0 ab and joins B25 again south of Wieselburg in Mühling at km 13.6. The new route of B 25 thus bypasses Wieselburg in the north and the east.

Service. Static and structural design, traffic design

Currently the preliminary building works in the courtyards have been almost completed in the project Postgasse and the attic conversion has started.

The existing building of Postgasse is revitalized by Denkmalneu Gruppe and will be called “PLH – Post lebendiges Haus” (living house). The object has various types of use from hotel to flats, offices and an extensive fitness centre. A central element of the building is Dominikanerhof with approx. 1200 m², which not only comprises a 5-storey subterranean garage but shall also serve as room for events later. For this purpose the courtyard will be additionally roofed by a convertible membrane roof as weather protection.

The erection of a subterranean central cooling system in Barbarahof by Vienna’s energy supplier Wien Energie is a great challenge. The system will be supplied by water from the Danube Channel and shall provide district cooling to several large-scale projects in Vienna‘s first district. Due to the noise and vibration-intensive cooling units, the whole courtyard was decoupled by Sylomer and the machines themselves were embedded on mass-spring systems. Apart from numerical models for the assessment of secondary noise, measurements on the building site are also used.

The BIM project was completely modelled in 3D. Some field tests were performed by means of HoloLens for early detection of collisions between the wooden truss to be preserved and the new steel elements.

Client. Postgasse 8 Entwicklungs OG

Services. engineering report, static and structural design, notification of completion, check engineer according to the Viennese building code

On 14 November2019 at 2 p.m. the newly designed Rotenturmstraße was opened according to plan.

We prepared the detailed road project together with the architectural office Katzberger.

The new Rotenturmstraße is decreed as a shared zone and has no parking spaces anymore. Sixteen new trees were planted, two fountains and benches were set up, pavement cafes were newly arranged and lighting was renewed for improved quality of sojourn. Furthermore the existing bus stops were included into the project and the available loading zones were integrated.

The walking surfaces were considerably widened for the 30,000 pedestrians per day. The traffic organization remained as it was, only between Schwedenplatz and Lugeck cycling against the one-way street was newly decreed.

The diagonal between the State Opera and Schwedenplatz – via the new Stephansplatz – was completed by means of the new Rotenturmstraße. Thus, a continuously barrier-free, high-quality and urban connecting axis was created in the heart of Vienna.

BRIMOS® Stay Cable Measurements

Sancho el Mayor is a 260 metre long cable-stayed bridge with 140 stay cables in the course of the AP15 motorway in the north of Spain.

The condition of the stay cables as well as the cable forces were already measured and analysed with BRIMOS® in 2002. In the summer of 2019 a detailed follow-up measurement and analysis were performed for condition assessment and an evaluation of all stay cables.

Client. Autopistas de Navarra. S.A.

In June the so far greatest technical challenge regarding the construction of the new additional bridges for the Voest Bridge was successfully completed.

For this purpose, four large-size construction components with up to 92 m length and 1,400 tons weight were floated in or transported in and the bridge parts were lifted or hoisted to the already mounted bridge parts. The assembly of the pylon and the installation of the cables will be performed in August. The second bridge completion shall take place by the end of 2019 and in mid-2020 the Voest Bridge extended to eight lanes shall be approved.

Services were the check engineering of detailed structural design, shop drawings and assembly design for these objects. Furthermore four prestressed concrete bridges, three reinforced concrete bridges, two cycle bridges and a bridge extension as well as a multitude of small objects like abutments, underpasses, water protection plants and temporary construction pit systems as well as the respective supporting structures for construction were checked within the scope of this project. The erection of these objects is already in good progress.

Client. ASFINAG

Service. check engineering

On 4 April the foundation stone ceremony took place for the new Traude Dierdorf nursing home in Wiener Neustadt (Lower Austria).

In the following three years the Haus der Barmherzigkeit erects a new modern, completely barrier-free nursing home with nine assisted living groups at the existing site.

Furthermore, a kindergarten with four groups, a cafeteria, a chapel as well as a big garden area are established on the 18,000 m² big plot.

Photo from left to right: Jakob Dunkel (querkraft), Christoph Gisinger (HB), Mayor Klaus Schneeberger, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Provost Karl Pichelbauer, Member of the provincial government Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister, Florian Pressl, Lukas Pohl (both HB)

------------------------------------------

Client . Institut Haus der Barmherzigkeit
Architect . querkraft
Services . Tender, project control, ambient noise measurement

LINK . www.ots.at/presseaussendung
LINK . noe.orf.at/news/stories/2974144/

The area between Schlossbrücke and Grünbergstrasse is the last part of the area in front of the Schönbrunn castle to be modernized.

A new coach and car parking area is being established between the underground railway and the Wien river on the one side and the Schönbrunner Schlossstrasse on the other. In addition the access from the underground railway exit to the castle is newly structured and a new arrival building is designed.

The existing parking spaces for coaches in front of the castle are relocated to the new coach parking area and therefore an undisturbed view on the castle building is enabled. A new car park is established on the existing parking area. The new coach parking area will have 48 parking spaces for coaches and the car park will accommodate 230 parking spaces.

By means of attractive green design – including approx. 300 new trees – and state-of-the-art lighting a parking area corresponding to the requirements of a World Heritage site is created.

The total costs are fully borne by the operating company of Schönbrunn.

Completion of the 1st construction phase “coach parking area” is planned by September 2019 and the completion of the “car park” by March 2020.

Client . Schloss Schönbrunn Kultur- und Betriebsges.m.b.H

Services . detailed structural project – technical surface and traffic design, tender, project management and site supervision

Austria Campus is a business site with a total area of 200,000 m² consisting of all in all six office blocks. The Campus is part of the Nordbahn quarter created on the area of the former northern railway station and one of the biggest structural engineering projects currently realized in Europe.

VCE first carried out a TDD (Technical Due Diligence) in the course of trans­action for the construction sites 5, 8 and 6 and subsequently the building project was supported in the scope of a construction monitoring order. After the conclusion of monitoring, VCE has still been involved in technical consulting.

The construction sites 5 and 8 have already been completed and Bank Austria has moved in. The construction site BF6.1 was also completed and put into operation by the hotel operator “rooms”. The construction sites BF6.2 and BF6.3 are currently in the completion phase.

Client . AOC Immobilien

Services . TDD and construction monitoring

European Concrete Award 2018 for the ÖAMTC Mobility Centre!

Representatives of the owners, architects, structural engineers and contractors of the submitted projects came to Helsinki to receive the award.

In the category “Building” the EUROPEAN CONCRETE AWARD 2018 went to the project “ÖAMTC Mobility Centre”, Vienna, Austria. The load-bearing structure of the building has a number of specific features rarely encountered in such a density or combined in such a way. In addition to these facts the whole project team worked with BIM.

LINK . more about the project

LINK . ecsn.net/ecsn-award
LINK . öbv article

With a total output of 714 MW, the world's most efficient offshore windfarm will be built off the east coast of the UK. The windfarm consists of 102 7MW turbines and an offshore transformer station built on jackets at a water depth of 37 meters.

VCE was commissioned with the planning, installation and commissioning of a metrological condition monitoring system for nine turbines and the transformer station. This includes the installation of numerous sensors in the jackets (foundations), the towers of the turbines and the offshore station, including associated measurement technology, remote data transmission, automated data analysis and web user interface.

Client . East Anglia One Limited (IBERDROLA & Scottish Power Renewables)

Services . permanent Structural Health Monitoring

The former post office building was erected in the course of the last 2-3 centuries and was repeatedly reconstructed and extended. The building is situated between Postgasse and Dominikanerbastei, under which the former Viennese city wall was located.

Apart from the establishment of a hotel and flats in the existing structure the attic shall be converted. In this process the existing roof structure shall be maintained and an underground car park shall be built in Dominikanerhof. Furthermore respective installations are established in all courtyards. Due to the complex design the project is processed with BIM by VCE.

The demolition of non-load-bearing walls and superstructures is currently completed. The project is already approved and we are at the beginning of the detailed design phase.

more information . BIM and Postgasse

Structural Health Monitoring System & Load Testing . Two suspension bridges with O-shaped pylon are erected in the scope of the “Lusail Development Project”. The lengths of the two bridges amount to 204 and 186 metres. Both structures have six lanes each.

Problems arose in the course of erection, construction was stopped and the structures were partly demolished again. After redesign by the designer VCE was ordered to design, install and operate a permanent monitoring system with numerous sensors on the structure for the construction phase of one of the bridges. The objective is measurement and monitoring of the structural behaviour during construction and the examination of the planning assumptions. The services also include the measurement and instrumentation of a terminal static load test.

Civil engineering structures must be regularly subjected to complete visual and close condition tests regulated in guidelines, rules and standards. In particular in case of big bridges this is only possible in a limited manner and is connected with high efforts and expenses for access technology and operational constraints.

The objective of the EDISON project is the support of conventional bridge inspections and the (partial) replacement of the latter by use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). In the project various UAV based sensor systems (e.g. high-resolution cameras, multi-spectral cameras, stereo cameras, ground radar, thermography) were further developed and tested at the Falkenstein railway bridge.

Project objectives

• High-precision, complete 3D model of the bridge from photogrammetric pictures
• Damage detection and classification of UAV data (cracks, spalling, moisture penetration, …)
• Damage localization at the 3D model, list of defects and test report

Project partners

• VCE Vienna Consulting Engineers ZT GmbH (project management)
• ÖBB Infrastruktur AG
• Angst Group
• Palfinger Europe GmbH

Rail instead of road transport – project for a faster and more effective transportation of container goods from the factory to the railway via freight vehicle without transaction at a terminal. The first test transport of the combined freight transportation independent of a terminal was carried out in southern Burgenland (Austria) with the well-established MOBILER-System of the Rail Cargo Group. Containers can be handled quickly and straightforwardly between freight vehicles and railway-cars almost everywhere by means of special container shifting systems – by one single person, without any assistance and without costly terminal equipment.

The project “Combi Coop II” was nominated as one the 5 top candidates of the 2017 VCÖ Mobility Award in the category “Energy-efficient freight traffic”.

Project partners are nine companies from the southern Burgenland region as well as a forwarding company.

Client: Project funded by AWS (Austria Economic Service)

Service: Traffic design

On 2 September 2017 the new extension of the underground railway line U1 will start operation with 5 new stations. VCE had the tasks of check engineer, railway consultant (§31a und §34b) and construction coordinator for lot U1/10 (Troststrasse), check engineer and railway consultant for lot U1/8 (Alaudagasse) and designer for lot U1/13 (turnout facility Favoritenstrasse).

The construction methods comprised the whole spectrum of civil and underground engineering (earthwork, cut-and-cover method, bored piles, relocation of installations, underpinning and protective screen of buildings with jet grouting, tunnel construction with shallow excavated cross sections of up to 120 m² under existing buildings) as well as of interior fitting (steel construction, glass structures, masonry) and could be successfully implemented meeting the respective deadlines.

The scope of services of VCE also comprised track design in the area of the turnout shaft Volkspark (U1/8), noise and vibration protection design of the lots U1/8 and U1/13 – U1/15 as well as traffic design in the area of the lots U1/13 – U1/15.

Client: Wiener Linien GmbH & Co KG

Services: Check engineering, Site supervision and safety on site, Structural design of superstructure, Structural design, Traffic design

The project provides for the new construction of a school for children aged 6 to 14 as well as an annex to an already existing elementary school building.

The new school for 6 to 14-year-olds is designed as compact structure with five floors. Attached to the back side is a structure with two half-buried gym halls. A side wing consisting of a waste disposal room and a flying roof creates an atrium as well as a rest zone on the flat roof of the first floor. The open spaces of the school are suitably designed for pupils and instruction.

The three-storeyed structure of the annex to the elementary school is compactly connected to the existing building and complements the available space with the required educational and secondary rooms.

Both school buildings are currently in the detailed structural design phase. Construction will start on 17 July 2017.

Client:MA 56 (Vienna’s municipal authorities) represented by WIP Wiener Infrastruktur Projekt GmbH

Services in consortium with CPPA & Fellerer Vendl: static and structural design, design-build, coordination of construction works, site supervision, building physics, check engineer according to Vienna’s building code

This year the charitable association LIFE+ organizes the AIDS charity event “Life Ball“, which is recognized worldwide, again. National and international non-profit organizations, which support persons affected by HIV, are funded with the net profit of the Life Ball. This year’s topic #Recognize the Danger runs like a creative thread through the weekend of events and welcomes the visitors as oversize figure at the entrance of Vienna’s city hall.

VCE supports the initiative with the service of design and building site coordination according to the building site coordination law for the “event site” Life Ball 2017 in the area of Rathausplatz and in the event rooms of the city hall.

Client: Life+ association for direct support of HIV-positive persons and persons down with AIDS

Service: Health and safety engineering

Volkstheater will be completely refurbished in three construction phases in the summers of 2017, 2018 and 2019. The main objectives are an improvement of operation and increased comfort for the audience.

Currently the project is in the phase of basic design with advanced submission of architectural design. Furthermore there is continuous coordination with the authorities and the Antiquities and Monuments Office.

Client:Volkstheater GmbH

Services:Project management, static and structural design, tender / cost estimation, building physics, fire protection design

On 5 December 2016 the new ÖAMTC headquarters in Erdberg was put into operation.

ÖAMTC concentrated the former eight administrative sites in Vienna in one new building with a size of 25,000 square metres and established new headquarters with an office area, support functions, member service and a heliport. The new centre shall take care of approx. 75,000 members and clients.

The project was handled by Pichler & Traupmann architects as general design managers in cooperation with VCE. The building was continuously planned from preliminary design up to detailed design with a joint three-dimensional BIM model.

Services: Preliminary design, design, submission design, tender design, foundation concept, detailed project, detailed design, check engineering and notification of completion according to Vienna’s building regulations, project control

Within the scope of the EU-wide Enviromental Noise Directive (END) enacted in 2002 strategic noise maps and noise action planning are published every five years (laerminfo.at).

In Vienna’s city region the noise of all roads, tracks and Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) sites is visually represented on two-dimensional coloured maps. Furthermore the noise levels at principal residences are determined and summarized in tables, separated according to the sound source. The calculation comprises the total urban area of Vienna with 414 km² and contains more than 80 million calculation points.

Rail sources in Vienna’s urban area include ÖBB rail tracks, underground railway and tram lines of Vienna’s public transport services and tracks of local railway lines. Motorways and express highways as well as general public traffic routes in the city area are considered as road sources. In the city area of Vienna there are 28 IPPC sites (as of 2012), which are also displayed in the strategic noise maps.

Services: noise mapping, acoustic calculations of railway, road and site noise.

In the course of the structural survey of the Reichsbrücke it was detected that certain pot bearings had no sufficient sliding gap anymore. Therefore the existing pot bearings are dismounted and replaced with new cup and ball bearings in autumn 2016. The bearing exchange is carried out without any interruption of the traffic.

Services of VCE: Bridge inspection, tender design, structural design

Ashghal (Public Works Authority), the Qatari authority responsible for all infrastructure projects, realizes the so-called IDRIS Programme (Inner Doha Resewerage Implementation Strategy) for comprehensive extension and fundamental modernization of the sewage system in Doha in order to cope with the requirements of the considerably growing population.

In this project four micro-tunnel boring machines are used for the construction of the deep gravity sewer with an internal diameter of 1.6 m and a total length of approx. 21 km. All in 47 shafts with depths up to 45 m have to be established for the operation of the micro-tunnel boring machines and installation of the jacking pipes.

The services as Quality Control Engineer comprise the review and the approval of the design as well as the quality control in construction.

On 27 April 2016 the ground-breaking ceremony for the first shaft took place in Al Wakrah.

Picture above: Manoj Bajaj (HBK), Luis Fagundes (Ashgal), Sheikh Ali Bin Hamad Al Thani (HBK), Georgios Ntigkmpasanis (HBK), Bill VanWagenen (ch2m), Bassam Halabi (GHD)

Picture below - VCE Team v.l.n.r.: Roberto Bontoyan, Charlou Velasco, Ariel Papica, Ramil Macalalad, Cristian Giurgea, Houman Foroutan, Ernst Forstner

LINK TunnelTalk

In the scope of Phase 1 of the Doha Metro project four underground railway lines shall be constructed on a total length of 172 km. The track system is designed as ballastless track with Porr slab track system and some sections as mass-spring systems. The design comprises tunnel sections, at grade sections, tracks on viaducts as well as turnout areas and the associated transition areas. As basis of the layout of the ballastless track the available alignment is revised and adjusted by VCE.

VCE carries out analyses on the requirement of emission reduction measures (e.g. mass-spring systems) for providing the protection targets regarding vibrations, ground-borne noise and airborne noise. Extensive measurements were performed on site as a basis for these calculations.

The production of the track supporting layers manufactured as prefabricated parts on site has already started, whereas the installation of the tracks is expected to begin in autumn 2016. The route of Phase 1 shall be put into operation in 2019, in due time for the start of the Football World Cup in 2022.

Client: Porr Qatar Construction WLL

Services of VCE: Project development and system configuration, concept and detailed design total track system, alignment, noise and vibration protection design, measurements on site.

> to the project

The topping-out ceremony of the new ÖAMTC headquarters took place on 14 December 2015. After an intensive planning period and a record-breaking construction time the shell construction was completed shortly before the ceremony. Ernst Klobucnik (ÖAMTC - Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club), Franz Lederhas (Granit) and Architect Christoph Pichler (see photo) thank all the persons involved in the project for the excellent and close cooperation. In less than 8 months approx. 20,000 m³ and almost 4,000 t of reinforcement were used in the highly complex structure.

Services: Basic design / general design, construction design, detailed design, foundation concept, preliminary design, quantity survey, structural design, submission design, tender design

On 1 September 2015 the first large-scale terrace was inaugurated in the Wien river valley. The project creates new open spaces in the built-up urban area. Furthermore a pedestrian bridge over the Wien river connecting the 5^th and the 6^th districts of Vienna was opened.

The terrace for urban live above the underground line U4 – near the station Pilgramgasse – and the Wienfluss is about 76 m long and 14 m wide and offers approximately 1,000 m² additional public space for the districts of Marga­reten and Mariahilf. The construction consists of prefabricated parts with topping reinforced concrete cover and a wooden surface. On the terrace there are outdoor furnitures and design elements.

Services: check engineering

Start of reconstruction and new construction of the historic building of the former marine barracks Tegetthoff.

The existing building is reconstructed into a modern residential building with 23 apartments with private bathing areas and landing piers at the Kuchelauer dock. Two bungalows are newly erected at the water side, furthermore two subterranean garages, a protection embankment against floods and a sealing slurry wall all around are built. The bulky attic storey is completely newly built in a very sophisticated style. The real estate is situated in a unique location in the 19^th district of Vienna, with the Kahlenberg hill in the back and a view over the calm branch of the Danube. A general bathing area with generous boardwalks is established for the residents.

After having completed the service phases 1-4 according to HOAI, the building application for the new construction of the future headquarters of Funke Media Group in Essen was submitted on 30 April 2015 and the consortium AWG / VCE was commissioned with the services of the additional phases 5-7.

Construction starts in summer 2015 and will be completed in September 2017. Apart from the office premises of the publishing group a radio station, a media café, a day-care facility for children as well as a catering area for 200 persons will be located in the two building parts of the project in future.

Services: consortium with AllesWird Gut Architektur ZT GmbH, internal coordination of design management, structural design, measurement and analysis for vibration prediction

The Public Works Authority (PWA) intends to provide grade-separated pedestrian bridges in different parts of Qatar. These facilities will provide a complete separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic and will make it easier and safer for pedestrians to walk to a variety of destinations such as schools, shopping centres and public transport interchanges. The program will be a design & build project for the construction of a number of pedestrian bridges and in parallel, the planning and development of other pedestrian bridges. The complete superstructure inclusive the external cladding which has a acylindrical shape is made of aluminium.

On 3rd of April 2015 the complete superstructure was sucessful installed. At the moment finalization works like installation of lift towers, staircases are ongoing. Complete finalization is planned for May 2015.

Services: check engineer (CAT-III), MEP design services, consultancy services

LINK  www.gulf-times.com
LINK  www.ashghal.gov.qa
LINK  www.mageba.in

On 12 January 2015 the construction works for the future restaurant and communications centre of Wiener Netze (Vienna Public Utilities) situated centrally on the Wiener Netze site have started. The dining room and the cafeteria offer space for 530 seats, in the outdoor area there are an additional 80 seats. The 1,500 lunches per working day serve predominantly for the staff members.

Architect: Pichler & Traupmann Architekten ZT GmbH

Services: internal design management coordination, structural design, site supervision

The residential building Huttengasse comprises 172 privately financed flats, 15 offices and a supermarket. The difficult foundation conditions due to the location of the structure directly above two tunnel tubes of the underground railway line U3 and the suburban railway line represented a special challenge.

Three of five building parts were already handed over to the owners in December. In January the delivery of the flats of the remaining two staircases will be completed. The construction works for the building in Huttengasse were started by Alpine in August 2012. After the take-over by Strabag in August 2013 the project was now completed.

Services of VCE: static and structural design, building physics, site supervision, notification of completion, vibration-related consultancy

Up to 15 November 2014 section 2014 (Kaiserstrasse – Kirchengasse) is to be completed.

The surfaces in the pedestrian zone (natural stone) and the road surface in the shared space (natural stone) were newly designed. Existing concrete slabs were reinstalled in the footpath area of the shared zone. Furthermore a guidance system for the blind, new furniture including green space, bicycle stands and additional furniture were integrated into the road space on both sides. Lighting was renewed and the existing masts were newly painted. Parking spaces and regulations including service points will be established soon.

Services VCE: Construction phase design, cost determination, technical infrastructure relocation design, tender design, traffic planning

An approx. 15 km long cablecar with four stations starting near the historic seaport of Kotor over the nature reserve Lovcen Mountain up to Cetinje, the old capital of Montenegro, is to open up the touristic coast region with Montenegro’s hinterland. After a longer project standstill phase 2 (tender, detailed design) is started now.

Services of VCE: Overall design incl. tender and detailed design

A new office building with two basement floors and seven upper floors is built for the Chamber of Labour Vienna and Lower Austria in Plösslgasse in the 4^thdistrict of Vienna.

At the moment temporary building pit support and underpinning measures are in progress. Construction starts in August and the completion of the building is scheduled for May 2015.

The Neusiedlersee railway line connects Neusiedl am See with Pamhagen and serves for the development of the region of Seewinkel. In order to increase the attractiveness of the route, to enable a more flexible and efficient operation by remote control of the route and to facilitate operation management in general, the safety systems (signal boxes, signals, railway crossing safety systems etc.) are modernized. In the course of this project the railway crossings are adapted to the new railway crossing provision, which prescribes higher technical standards. Furthermore a passenger information system as is a standard also for ÖBB is established.

The project is currently being implemented. Construction started at the beginning of March 2014. The project shall be concluded by 31 October2015.

Services of VCE: supervision of the award procedure, technical consulting, technical and financial control of the total project, control of the authority procedures, support in the preparation of the submission documents

ÖAMTC (the Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club) plans to pool its existing administrative sites in Vienna (Schubertring, Donaustadt, Schanzstrasse, Dresdnerstrasse) in one building and to establish headquarters with an office area, support functions, member service and a heliport for the accomplishment of its tasks. The site for the new project is located in Baumgasse in the 3^rd district of Vienna.

The office Pichler & Traupmann Architects won the first place in the course of a single-stage anonymous design management competition. The project is executed in cooperation with VCE.

The time schedule plans the start of construction in 2015. All in all a modern working environment shall be created for approx. 800 staff members on a gross floor area of 27,000 m² up to the intended opening in 2016.

The Railway Section Bruck/Mur – Graz represents a bottleneck in the course of the upcoming capacity extension of the railway connection Vienna – Klagenfurt (Zielnetz 2025+). To enhance the technical condition of the incorporated assets on the section according to a defined operational availability VCE developed an integrated life-cycle methodology in order to harmonize interventions of maintenance and replacements related to different asset classes (bridges, walls, electrical engineering, signalling and track work) to optimized maintenance treatment plans.

The core of the life-cycle methodology is a set of deterioration and prognosis models for all relevant facilities and asset classes. The main input parameters are real condition data (inspection) of all relevant facilities and asset groups which are compared to the expected theoretical ageing processes.  Based on both the ageing models and the current condition tailored maintenance plans can be elaborated for every individual facility over the entire forecast period and in accordance to the internal maintenance policy stated by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). Afterwards those maintenance plans are to be harmonized aiming on a defined operational availability (cross-asset approach). For that purpose, the derived interventions of different asset classes are rearranged following certain boundary conditions (condition, given availability).

Finally, the optimized maintenance plans and a condition prognosis in 2025 for the section Bruck/Mur-Graz were presented at the Austrian Federal Railways in December 2013.

Services: condition analysis; condition based deterioration model; maintenance planning; cross-asset optimization; condition prognosis 2025

» more about the project

On 5 October 2013 the 4.2 km long extension of the underground railway line U2 was put into operation. Every second train goes from Aspernstrasse to the stations Hausfeldstrasse and Aspern Nord on to the new terminal stop Seestadt.

The section U2/15 Aspern Nord of the U2-northern extension completely runs in elevated position and includes a representative two-storey station building with central platform.

Services – extension of underground railway:

• Check engineering U2/15
• Sound and vibration engineering design (U2/14-U2/16)
• Sound and vibration engineering acceptance test in the course of operating approval (U2/14-U2/16)

In addition to the new section of the underground railway the tram line 26 was also extended by 4.7 km. The route comprises ten new stops and runs until the terminal stop Hausfeldstrasse.

Services – extension of tram line 26:

• Sound and vibration engineering design
• Building audit in the course of the construction phase
• Measurements and analyses during the construction phase
• Sound and vibration engineering acceptance test in the course of operating approval

Recently the construction works for the kindergarten Wilhelminen hospital started with the excavation of the building pit. The works are not easy as due to the local conditions and considering the existing tree population to be protected the space available is very constricted. A nailed up shotcrete wall for the protection of the tree population as well as the impressive almost vertical slope in the area are part of geotechnical monitoring. The incoming ground and strata water is currently pumped out in order to be able to construct the base plate as water proof concrete structure.

In a few weeks the 45 cm thick basement ceiling, which serves as sustaining floor for the upper storeys, will be concreted. This is required as bearers would be out of place in an exercise room.

Architect: SOYKA / SILBER / SOYKA ZT-GmbH

On the 2^nd of April the construction works of the project “nursing home Stephansheim“ will start. A new, modern and contemporary nursing home should be constructed on the area of the former indoor swimming pool until autumn 2014 and therefore replace the old building at “Stephansberg”. The winning project will be implemented by the architectural office “Duda.Testor.Architektur”.

The new building will follow the innovative concept of living communities with a central kitchen and a central living room in each apartment. In total nine living communities with overall 146 beds are planned.

The Gebäudeerrichtungs- und Betriebsgesellschaft m. b. H. plans the new construction of the WIFI-Technical Centre in the area of WIFI St. Pölten where the New Design University (NDU) is to be accommodated as well.

On 08.08.2012 the building permit was issued and the construction works will start in February with temporary pit support and drainage measures.

The 12.8 km long Lainzer Tunnel is an integral part of the new railway route Vienna – St. Pölten. The railway traffic from the west passes through this tunnel below the city of Vienna.

The new high-performance route is put into operation starting with the timetable change in December 2012.

> Project Lainzer Tunnel

On 26 August 2012 at 2 p.m. the new Frutz bridge was released for traffic after only 10 months of construction time.

The final completion of the bridge and its surroundings as well as the release of the pavements and cycle tracks on the bridge shall take place by October 2012.

At the Community Großhofen in Lower Austria, six new wind energy plants are planned and built.

The road building works in the area of the wind park (1st part) have been completed and the foundation works are in progress. The cabling works within the wind park have also been completed. Currently cables are laid along the 8 km long conduction route up to the transfer station in Grossenzersdorf.

The design works for the project have already begun in mid-2011. The construction works for the ballast-less track are just about to start.

The government building at Stubenring is the headquarters of the Austrian Ministry for Economics, Family and Youth (BMWFJ). The history of the building is closely connected to the Austrian history. In the listed government building erected in 1909 two attic storeys were converted.