Construction Solutions in Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall | Sika

The Elbphilharmonie concert hall is an architectural and cultural beacon that was constructed using Sika high-performance sealing and bonding solutions.

Project Participants

Project Requirements

Firstly, the existing warehouse had to be stripped back to its historical brick facade and reinforced by adding 650 new concrete piles to the existing 1,000+ piles in place so that it could bear the almost 200,000-ton weight of the Elbphilharmonie. The warehouse was re-purposed to include parking, several restaurants, rehearsal and storage spaces for the concert hall. A plaza of approx. 3,100m² creates an interface between the restored warehouse and the new-build component.

Sika Solutions

• Concrete Technologies
  The Sika® Watertight Concrete System was specified for both the basement and terraces. On the terraces, Sika® Watertight Concrete was chosen as a secondary defense should the waterproof decking above become damaged and allow water to penetrate. 1,000 m³ of Sika® Watertight Concrete was used with state-of-the-art Sika admixtures added to prevent water penetration.
  The spacious plaza foyer is dominated by large ceiling vaults and inclined concrete columns. To optimize the durability of the concrete, Sika supplied 40 tons of ultra-fine pozzolanic concrete additive Sika® Silicoll SL. Class 4 requirements were placed on the fair-faced concrete in the stairwells and elevator shafts. The universal Sika® Viscocrete® ready-mix concrete superplasticizer was specified for many of the complex concreting operations.
• Corrosion Protection
  Curved sculptural stairways opening off the plaza lead to one of the world's most acoustically superior concert auditoria. Required to offer long term abrasion and impact resistance, the steel stair balustrades were provided with a robust anti-corrosive finish using the SikaCor® EG system. The combination of two-pack priming and intermediate coats based on epoxy resin/micaceous iron oxide and polyurethane topcoat ensures high chalking resistance and color retention.
• Sealing and Bonding
  The over 70 m high glass assembly fronting of the Elbphilharmonie sports 1,100 blue crystal-like window units, the whole glass facade covers an area of around 20,500 m². The adhesives and sealants used for the glazing are exposed to the typically harsh Hamburg climate of alternating sunshine, rain, storms, and gale-force winds. The project team thus opted for the use of Sikasil® SG-500 two-part structural silicone adhesive and Sikasil® IG-25 HM Plus two-part silicone sealant for the fabrication of the individual glass units. In addition to the adhesives and sealants for the glass facade, Sika also supplied sealant solutions for the floor joints in the break rooms and stairwells.
• Roofing Systems
  Structurally, the Elbphilharmonie’s column-free grand hall takes the form of an intricate steel frame with steel nodes. The 6,200 m² roof area is made up of eight concave surfaces resting on approximately 1,000 individually bent steel beams. Due to the extremely steep roof angles in some places, 2mm thick Sarnafil® TS 77-20 E multi-layer polymeric membrane, based on flexible polyolefin was used. The individual membrane sheets were mechanically spot-fixed at the overlaps using the Sika® Sarnafast system, purpose-developed for fastening to trapezoidal steel profiles. Special washers were used in conjunction with the Sarnafast SF 4.8 self-drilling, hardened carbon steel fasteners. Roof junctions were formed with Sarnafil® T galvanized-steel flashings. The upper faces of these units are laminated with Sarnafil® TG 66-18 FPO membranes, thereby allowing homogeneous welding with the TS 77-20 E roof membrane.

Products Used

• Concrete Technologies
  Sika® ViscoCrete®-1051
  Sika® Silicoll SL
• Corrosion Protection
  Sika Poxicolor® Primer HE New
  SikaCor® EG-System
• Sealing and Bonding
  Sikasil® SG 500
  Sikasil® IG 25 HM Plus
  Sikaflex sealants
• Roofing Systems
  Sarnavap 5000 E
  Sarnafil® TS 77-20 E RAL 7040
  Sarnafast®-System
  Sarnafil® TG 66-18
  Sarnafil® accessories