Poland’s tallest building in construction

The Polish capital’s highrise skyline is expanding steadily. The new Varso Tower is one of the highest buildings in Europe and, when completed, the 310 m tower will be the tallest building in Poland. Situated in the centre of the city, near the Palace of Culture and Science, the building features a restaurant and observation deck on top with panoramic views across Warsaw. London architectural firm Foster and Partners is responsible for the design of the Varso Tower project, which has glass façades designed to flood interior spaces with daylight.

The entire Varso Place development covers a total leasable area of 144,000 m². Apart from offices, the complex will contain a range of facilities including a hotel, fitness club, medical centre, multiple restaurants and cafés. Not only will the Varso Tower enrich the architectural scene in Warsaw, it will also showcase the city’s potential as a prominent European business and academic location.

The tower comprises 53 above-ground stories and some 70,000 m² of office space. It also has the highest viewing point in Poland at the height of 230 metres. Doka is supplying a custom formwork solution for the international workspace provider HB Reavis responsible for the development of the project.

Reduced shuttering times with Framax Xlife and Dokadek 30
The geometry of the building core and the inner-city location of the construction site presented particular challenges for this project. The geometry is reminiscent of a parallelogram, in which the triangular shape of the building shafts also presented some structural challenges. Besides, the structure of the core was significantly affected by the architecture of the upper floors, which had to be carefully considered from the conception phase.

The complex geometry of the building necessitated the use of framed formwork Framax Xlife. Framax represents high productivity that can be achieved even under severe working conditions. With this system, only a few units were required to create a 15-centimetre grid into which all the connecting materials could be seamlessly integrated. The significant distance between anchors meant that assembly time could be reduced. Specified unit formats and consistent unit grids ensured optimum usage of formwork materials. This combination contributed significantly to the high profitability in the use of the system.

Dokadek 30 unit ceiling boarding was used for the construction of the individual levels. Large
3 m² units could be inserted with this bearer-free system, which represented a significant saving in time. The mating surfaces were capped using Dokaflex seamless interlocking. The Doka concept is characterised by self-climbing forming and working platform SCP for the building core as well as the Table Lifting System TLS for quick and secure vertical construction without a crane. This combination enabled a significant increase in the speed of the construction process so that a five-day cycle could be established.

All-round safety
The SCP platform significantly increases efficiency. The platforms used the pump included in the system to prevent unnecessary movements in the erection of the highrise core. The Protection screen Xclimb 60 ensures safety from falling as well as protection from weather conditions. The hydraulic climbing system provides constant guidance that allowed construction to continue even in high winds. The Safety Net Fan was used to intercept falling objects and debris safely. This flexible system can be used with all kinds of structures and shapes.

Project completion is expected for end of 2021.