Bauer Umwelt executes turnkey excavation pit for senior citizen housing

Bauer Umwelt executes turnkey excavation pit for senior citizen housing

Where will I live when I get older? Many people ask themselves this question, and with good reason: Demographic changes pose a massive challenge for our society as the average age increases. Even today there are 16.2 million people in Germany over the age of 66, a figure which will increase to more than 21 million by 2050 to make up 26.3% of the population. This is also changing the real estate market.

According to estimates, 3 million more residences will be required in Germany for people of retirement age by 2030 compared with current numbers, and in many German regions this will constitute more than 40% of demand. If people's own homes are no longer ageappropriate or inpatient care is unavoidable, this means seeking out a care home or residence that is equipped for seniors. Such properties are unfortunately in short supply, despite the fact that their homes occupy a key role in seniors' daily routines and even become the center of life for many.

To resolve this dilemma, many communities and cities are launching new residential construction projects for seniors – such as the Gemeinnütziges Wohnungsunternehmen Eschborn GmbH. Right on the main road and next to the new traffic circle in Eschborn, Germany, two buildings are being constructed on an area extending over 3,600 m2, which will in future house a care home with room for 60 people, 29 apartments equipped for seniors and multiple commercial units on the ground floors as well as an underground

garage with 66 parking spaces.

Preparation of the construction site began in August 2019, while the Bauer Umwelt environmental division of Baue  Resources GmbH, which is responsible for preparing a turnkey excavation pit, started work in March 2020. But before excavation could get started, Bauer Spezialtiefbau GmbH executed a retaining structure to safeguard the construction pit using a king pile and planks with a tie back. "After that, we excavated 18,000 m3 of soil using two excavators andreplaced 3,600 m3 of ground," explains Site Manager Tobias Klose from the Bauer Umwelt division of Bauer Resources GmbH.

Overall, the work required tight coordination: the construction site is located right in the city center, so while lots of space for maneuvering, easy access and departure would have been ideal, the reality was quite different. Soil material could only be transported away and disposed of or delivered at times with low traffic, for instance early in the morning or in the evening. And that's not all: There is a church and a playground only a few yards away from the excavation pit. "When the neighboring buildings are so close by, extreme caution is required and the top priority during work is to minimize vibrations and noise," says Marcus Stannull, Sales Manager at the Bauer Umwelt division of Bauer Resources GmbH. Despite all these challenges, the project is planned to be completed in November after dismantling of the timber lagging and execution of the tie back as well as the backfilling in the working area.