For two and a half years, more than 100 experts, including architects from Aachen-based kadawittfeldarchitektur, engineers, structural engineers and others, worked on the 250 million euro project. In August 2016, the construction experts took over the helm and gave the exhibition grounds in the west of Frankfurt a distinctive face until 2018. In a joint venture with Ed. Züblin AG and ENGIE Deutschland GmbH, the building construction professionals of Max Bögl are responsible for the turnkey construction of the new exhibition hall, which will also be part of the adjacent Europaviertel.

Glass structure with impressive outer skin

The sheer size of Hall 12 alone sets inspiring accents: it will be around 248 metres long and 118 metres wide, with a height of 30 metres. The new exhibition hall with 33,600 square metres of exhibition space offers plenty of room and space for up to 23,600 people spread over two floor levels that allow for flexible use independently of one another. Foyers on all floors in the east, west and north, accessed by a total of 18 escalators, welcome visitors with plenty of light and spaciousness. The special: Two express escalators in the Westfoyer take people up to the upper level without stopping. Comfort and intuitive visitor guidance play an important role in the architects' concept. The transparent construction with large glass surfaces creates new, exciting visual references and viewing axes time and again, thus facilitating orientation between the two levels. The building's façade, whose lines are unmistakable, also provides free views and views of the lively trade fair events. Cut into two elements by one line, one part of the outer skin is made of glass, the other of aluminium. Several glazed bridge structures penetrate the façade as part of the "Via Mobile" and connect the hall with the existing network of paths in the exhibition area.

Precision lifting of concrete trusses weighing tons

As demanding as the architecture is, so challenging are the construction works - especially the transport and installation of hundreds of prefabricated parts in various shapes and dimensions. They were precisely manufactured in the precast factories of the Max Bögl Group at the headquarters in Sengenthal and at the Gera site. The lightweight prefabricated parts weigh between ten and 20 tons. The giants with a length of around 27 metres, on the other hand, weigh up to 110 tonnes: Prestressed concrete girders, which serve as the main girders for the upper hall level. It was not only their delivery over a distance of around 330 kilometres to the construction site in Frankfurt that required a high degree of logistics and know-how. To ensure that the precast concrete elements were available on time for installation on site, heavy goods transports were made daily from April to August on the long journey from the Upper Palatinate to Hesse. At an average speed of 60 km/h, the journey took between four and six hours. The first of a total of 48 prestressed concrete girders was delivered in mid-April, the last reached its destination at the end of June. An enormous crawler crane with a maximum load capacity of 600 tonnes lifted the heavy trusses precisely onto the supports. In addition, up to twelve cranes with their jibs rotated on the construction site and supported up to 500 skilled workers in the technically demanding construction of the hall building at peak times during the shell construction phase.

Complex steel construction work for hall and multi-storey car park

At the beginning of September, the shell of the building was completed and the topping-out ceremony celebrated. Work on the roof surfaces and facades is also in full swing. Directly following the structural work, intensive assembly and installation is also being carried out on all floors from the cellar to the roof in the interior work and in the technical building services equipment (TGA). In addition to the two-storey exhibition hall, a new multi-storey car park with around 800 parking spaces is currently under construction as well as the transport logistics on the south side of the building complex. The extensive steel construction work for Hall 12 and the multi-storey car park is the responsibility of the steel and plant construction department of the Max Bögl Group in cooperation with the steel construction department of Ed. Züblin AG. Until the turnkey handover of the new exhibition hall to the client in August 2018, there will be a lot to do in the following months.