Facade specialist seele installed the glass skywalk on the 4th floor of the Kaprun sporting goods store on 5 May. The assembly of the nine-tonne glass construction was observed by many spectators and a television crew. The project was also special for seele from a technical point of view: it is the first free-floating glass walkway that seele realised in Austria.
seele
The self-supporting construction made of glass and minimal stainless steel fittings provides an unobstructed view of the surroundings thanks to transparent floors and glass stringers. The exposed location of the building directly by the mountain stream required a carefully thought-out installation concept. The glass walkway was therefore pre-assembled in Gersthofen and transported to the installation site in one piece. The panorama bridge was designed by the Stuttgart-based architecture and design office Blocher Partners together with the engineering office BAUCON ZT GmbH.
Great cooperation between sedak and seele
A high degree of attention to detail and coordination between the glass fabricator and seele's construction team was required even in the run-up to installation. Glass specialist sedak GmbH handled the glass processing and pre-assembly. First, two 11m long glass trolleys (6 x 12mm LSG) were inserted into an assembly frame to act as structural supports for the glass walkway.
seele
Then the four base plates made of LSG were placed on top. As a last step, the end piece was inserted precisely. After gluing, the glass walkway was loaded and transported to Kaprun, Austria.
The sedak Skywalk was installed using a telescopic crane
Three days after completion of the pre-assembly, the walkway was lifted into its final position in Kaprun. The direct location on the river Ache was not only a challenge for the seele installation team, but also for the 250t telescopic crane.
The 45m long jib of the crane lifted the glass walkway from the street side over the building to the installation site on the fourth floor. There, the fitters adjusted and fixed the glass construction in the building by means of compensating brackets.
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sedak
Two stainless steel stays attached to the glass stringers penetrate the building and are fixed by means of two M48 threaded bolts.
These minimal building connection points create the imposing, free-floating appearance. The construction carries its own weight and counteracts other forces such as payload (max. 45 persons each weighing 100kg), snow (3kN/m² surface load) and wind (up to 140km/h).
Wind and weather almost prevented the installation
The installation was made more exciting by the weather forecasts, as bad weather and strong winds were predicted for the day. So it had to be brought forward to the early morning hours at short notice.
Without wind and weather, the walkway was then successfully fixed before the weather changed. Shortly after the installation, the rain started and wind speeds of over 12m/s were recorded, which would have prevented the installation.
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"In addition to the equipment and the installation team, the weather, which can change quickly in mountainous regions, plays a major role. You simply have to keep an eye on everything and react flexibly," Manuel Hofmair, the installation manager, explains. "Complex installations are actually the order of the day at seele, but the Bründl skywalk was a special project for me.”
seele
Clearly, the planning was to enable a time-effective installation. This meant that everything could be done very quickly on site and the walkway could be assembled in just 4 hours.
About se-austria GmbH
The seele branch in Schörfling/Austria is responsible for projects around the world that, with their size, aesthetics and technical sophistication, are regarded as milestones. Around 120 employees worldwide design, plan and realise complex steel and glass architecture or spectacular building envelopes made of aluminium, wood and membranes.
The constructions are developed in intensive dialogue with the clients. The portfolio ranges from customer consulting, design and engineering to production. Project management controls all activities up to logistics and installation on site. se-austria is closely integrated into the global seele network. For more information, contact anna.haas@se-austria.com.
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