When IKEA built a new warehouse and factory premises in Malacky in Slovakia, an important part of the design was a large protective wall with prefabricated columns. To make transport and assembly easy and efficient, the Peikko Technical Support team in Slovakia designed a unique two-part solution for the columns.
Built for safety
The IKEA Components warehouse in Malacky includes a warehouse area on one side and a production area on the other. To protect the warehouse area and finished products from any possible accidents on the production side, even explosions, an enormous 31.5 m high concrete wall was built between the two areas.
Local expertise, Peikko solutions
In the original project, it was proposed that the columns would be mounted in pockets. However, the general contractor, Strabag s.r.o., already had experience of building in the same industrial park and they knew that the area had a high level of ground water most of the year round. As a result, they advised against using pockets with monolithic pile footings because the deep foundations would require extensive water pumping. Instead, they recommended anchoring the columns with Peikko bolted solutions, because they required shallower foundations and would be easier to install.
Bolted column connections make it possible
The construction company also asked Peikko for help with the design of the protective wall. It was about 31.5 m high and 126 m long and the design meant that it had to be installed first, before the rest of the building was constructed around it. The contractor wanted to avoid producing precast columns in one piece because the enormous columns would have been difficult to transport. As a result, the Peikko Technical Support Team in Slovakia came up with a design for bolted connections for prefabricated columns divided into two parts, which could be assembled on site.
Peikko’s two part design and bolted column connections made assembling the wall much easier. The bottom halves of the precast columns were installed first along with the precast wall elements, and then the top halves of the columns were simply bolted on top.
“Only Peikko was able to offer a better idea, together with the necessary quality, support and products within the needed delivery time.”
An award winning construction
Part of the success of this project was down to the excellent cooperation between Peikko Slovakia and Strabag s.r.o and design office Stat-kon. When the project was initially announced, the tender documentation was still based on traditional pocket column installation and a monolithic wall. At this stage, when Strabag s.r.o. was competing for the project, only Peikko was able to offer a better idea, together with the necessary quality, support and products within the needed delivery time. All parties involved had worked successfully together before and this time Peikko’s solutions helped Strabag s.r.o. win the tender. Not only that, but their cooperation resulted in the new IKEA Components warehouse winning the “Construction of the year” award in 2018.
Project facts
- Project size: 27 000 m2
- Developer: IKEA Components s.r.o.
- Construction Company: Strabag s.r.o.
- Structural Designer: Stat-Kon s.r.o.
- Architect: De Bondt s.r.o.
- Precaster: Strabag s.r.o.
- Delivery year: 2016
- Completion year: 2017
Contact person
Ing. Gabriel Mihálek
Regional Manager
Peikko Slovakia s.r.o.
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