Tempo, Power, Topping Out!
- Topic
- Building // Coming home
- Date
- 05.07.2023
- Share
Just 14 months after the ground-breaking ceremony, we are already celebrating the topping-out of Living in St. Gotthard. We began building the 118 apartments, orthopedic center, and two commercial spaces together with our project partners in April 2022 in Vienna-Penzing as the full-service general contractor. The building construction department of WIBEBA is taking care of erection, installation, and finishing touches. Because the project was so entirely sound on paper, it sold to the Catella Wohnen Europa (CWE) real estate fund managed by Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management GmbH (CRIM) even before ground was broken.
Considering the size and complexity of the real estate project, the full construction period from ground-breaking to turnkey handover to CWE was extremely tight—just around 22 months, three months of which were special civil engineering and 19 months building construction. Thanks to our sophisticated, perfectly meshed construction logistics and excellent cooperation between the various companies involved, we topped out on schedule in June 2023.
Important Milestone
We celebrated this important milestone on Thursday, 29 June 2023, after the presentation of the traditional topping-out bonus to the workers, together with around 150 guests. The buffet was excellent and we raised our glasses to each other for many toasts. We played foosball like champions. WIBEBA and AVORIS faced off at darts, and the sunshine was as bright as our laughter!
WIBEBA, CRIM, and AVORIS came together with representatives from PORR, Emine Gül (Penzing District Councilor and chair of the District Building Commission), neighbors, the future operators of the orthopedic center, financial partners, and our partners OPTIN and EHL, who are in charge of selling the commercial units on the ground floor.
Other companies involved in the project were also present, including t-hoch-n Architekten, iC consulenten (site supervision and project management), Inplan (building utilities and electric installation site supervision), Oterea (consultants from Catella), 3P Geotechnik (civil engineering specialists, excavation pit support system), Ledermüller (building utilities), Palmeshofer (electrical systems), and Kittel-Sicher (construction coordination). The mood was light and the party was enjoyed by all.
- “A project is being built in Vienna-Penzing that is highly livable in a very holistic way—and an opportunity for us to really show our strengths as developers. Perfect public transportation connections, a desirable location, well-designed floor plans, and a state-of-the-art energy system make this project particularly interesting for young families, professionals, and students.”
Dominik Peherstorfer Managing Director of AVORIS - “With no divergences or delays from the schedule for rezoning, planning, permitting, or construction, Living in St. Gotthard really has been an ideal project for us. The project timeline put together at the very beginning still holds today. This is not to be taken for granted, especially considering the last few years, which have been very challenging ones for the construction industry.”
Christian Ditz AVORIS project partner - “It was clear that it was important to plan the construction logistics with particular care due to the complexity of the project and the tight building schedule. My team really did a perfect job. The construction time has, frankly, left us all a bit speechless.”
Dieter Zerovnik Managing Director of contracting company WIBEBA - “It is indeed rare that a new construction project of this size in such an excellent central location is built with such high quality and great focus on ecological sustainability. It truly makes Living in St. Gotthard a one-of-a-kind opportunity.”
Alexander Barotanyi Head of Austria for CRIM, the new owner
Pictures and Numbers from the Construction Site
There are usually around 40 people working on the construction site at any given time, and this number will increase to 80 during the final phase. A look at the numbers really illustrates the challenges faced:
13,500 m³ of excavated earth, 5,000 m³ of concrete poured, 800 t of reinforcements, 4 km of concrete core activation, 30 km of underfloor heating, 31 geothermal probes going down to an average depth of 115 m, 68 bored piles reaching depths of 31 m, 980 m² infill planks, 1.5 km of heating risers, 3.5 km of drinking water pipes, 2 km of lightning protection, 3,102 electrical sockets, and 118 motion detectors—these are just a few of the impressive numbers. We also saved two to three months of construction time by using prefabricated shafts and building elements.
What’s next?
Most of the 400 windows have already been installed. The raw installations will soon be complete, and the interiors will enter their final phase with door carpenters, painters, parquet layers, and other installers. Ahoy!!!
Project Details
The total usable area of Living in St. Gotthard, including outdoor areas, is 6,851 m². The building is shaped like a traditional three-sided courtyard building and is located in the immediate vicinity of the U3 station Kendlerstraße. Not only will the façade be greened, there will also soon be a brand new park right at the doorstep.
When finished, the project will have 118 rental apartments with one to three rooms and 31 to 83 m² of living area. With clever layouts, high-quality installation, and spacious private outdoor areas, the residences are highly desirable. A playroom, outdoor playground, 55 storage units, and underground parking spaces round out the amenities.
As with all AVORIS projects, a modern energy system—in this case a geothermal field with a heat pump for heating and cooling—has been installed. A PV system on the roof ensures that the heat pump operates with maximum energy efficiency and also supplies the building’s communal areas with electricity. Among other things, this means that the future tenants will have lower operating costs.
More info? Right this way!
Photos: Markus Wache & AVORIS
