ETH Zurich helps with the construction of the Zug wooden high-rise
One of the tallest wooden skyscrapers is soon to be built in Zug. A lot of basic research is necessary for the pioneering project. ETH Zurich is helping here with its construction hall on the Hönggerberg.
A ten-story office building with wooden components is to be built on the Suurstoffi site in Risch Rotkreuz. With a height of 80 meters, it will be one of the tallest wooden houses ever, as the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( ETH ) writes in an article. A lot of basic research is also required for the construction. Due to fire protection, this type of construction has only been allowed in Switzerland since 2015.
According to the article, basic research for the new building is being carried out in the ETH building hall on the Hönggerberg. There, for example, it is simulated how the timber structure would behave in strong winds. Computer models are not always sufficient for such simulations. This is why experiments are carried out in the ETH building hall. "For us, testing something usually means loading it until it is destroyed," explains Dominik Werne, head of the construction hall, in the article. In the case of innovations in particular, computer models have to be validated through tests, adds Andrea Frangi, Professor of Timber Construction at the Institute for Structural Analysis at ETH.
Tests on the structure of the Zug high-rise are currently being carried out in the building hall. This is planned by the Zurich engineering firm WaltGalmarini and built by the general contractor Implenia . After the tests at the ETH, the researchers decide together with engineers from WaltGalmarini which systems Implenia should use during construction.