Suspended high-rises with 3,700 square metres of RINGSCAFF modular scaffolding

Suspended high-rises scaffolded with 3,700 square metres of modular scaffolding

When it was built in the 1960s, the new town hall complex in the city of Marl, Germany, caused quite a stir. The Dutch architects Hendrik van den Broek and Jacob Bakema won an international architecture competition with their design – and created the first suspended high-rises in the Federal Republic of Germany at Creiler Platz.

What was considered visionary at the time is still a ‘bold construction’ today. The floors of the two town hall towers were not supported on the ground, but suspended from the roof. This construction method creates an impressive exterior façade and spacious, light-flooded interiors – but it does present some practical problems. Just a few years after completion, the first damages to the building complex became apparent. The hanging links of the town hall towers could not withstand the stresses of weather and environmental influences in the long term, so that the original construction had to be relieved by a second internal suspension.

In the years that followed, the ravages of time also left clear traces on both the façade and the interior of the Marl town hall. Ailing water pipes, outdated electronics, energy-intensive fixtures and leaky windows are just a few examples of the need for renovation. 2020 therefore marked the start of an extensive renovation of the two town hall towers and the public building.

The scaffolding company Lange Gerüstbau from Dorsten, which is now in its fifth generation of family ownership, was awarded the contract for the 35 and 43-metre-high town hall towers. For this project, Lange Gerüstbau sent four of its scaffolders to Marl to erect the required scaffolding in two stages of six and ten weeks respectively. Around 3,700 m² of RINGSCAFF modular scaffolding from Scafom-rux was used to enclose the facade area, the concrete surfaces of the building core and the ceiling soffit on the lowest floor. A GEDA ZZP 1500 lift was used for vertical material transport. A mobile crane was used to bring the steel girders, which were mainly used in the scaffolding in the area of the saw-tooth roofs, to their destination.

It almost goes without saying that an extraordinary building like the Marl City Hall also requires extraordinary scaffolding solutions. Above all, anchoring the scaffolding presented a particular challenge. This was only possible in the concrete ceilings and first had to be secured by double-walled sheet metal cladding and insulation. Cantilevers in the roof area and the scaffolding foundations, some of which extended down to the lowest basement floors, also posed special challenges when planning the required scaffolding. This is where the flexibility of the RINGSCAFF modular scaffolding paid off, as it could be easily adapted to the façade and the cantilevered hanging rods.

After a project duration of around three years, the first scaffolding is to be dismantled in August 2023. The renovation project will then enter the next phase and, according to the city of Marl, is expected to be completed in April 2026.

In addition to renting out work platforms and system scaffolding material, the 55 employees of Lange Gerüstbau GmbH also provide professional scaffolding assembly and dismantling services, as well as logistics and transport solutions. ‘From single-family homes to industrial plants, we provide everything throughout North Rhine-Westphalia,’ says managing director Johannes Lange.