DANUBEFLATS: Outstanding Quality Through Digital Documentation

How Austria’s tallest residential tower is being built with PlanRadar

The DANUBEFLATS residential project in Vienna has been developed with S+B Gruppe AG in cooperation with SORAVIA. The project consists of 2 buildings — the residential tower and a second residential building — with a total of around 670 apartments spread over an area of about 42,000 square metres. The ambitious project rises up over 48 floors and reaches a height of 180 metres. One aspect that sets the residential tower apart is that almost all the apartments within it have a balcony or terrace offering a panoramic view of the Danube and the centre of Vienna. Exclusive highlights such as a heated pool, a spa and gym with a yoga room, a cocktail bar and relaxation areas complete the luxurious offering. Construction is expected to be complete at the end of 2024.

PlanRadar has proven itself to be an essential tool for running construction projects of this size and quality. Five shared tablets are used on the DANUBEFLATS site and all executing and directly commissioned subcontractors, from screed layers to sealers, use the digital platform. PlanRadar is mainly used for locating defects, quality assurance and performance assessment. But final approvals, area-by-area handovers and custom requirements are also managed within the app. It is estimated that over 30,000 tickets will have been created in PlanRadar upon completion of the residential tower.

The challenge: construction of Austria’s highest residential tower

With a construction project of this size, there are many challenges to be overcome. These can come from the local conditions but also the building itself.

The residential tower in Vienna and more specifically in Donau City, an area in the 22nd district, is being built close to the Danube and adjacent buildings. The area of the city is connected to the Danube Island and the 2nd district by the Reichsbrücke bridge. It collapsed in 1976 and was reopened in 1980, which is why particular caution is now required for the building process.

The structure is also being built right next to the motorway, which can only bear the weight of 4 floors, so creativity was essential. As a solution for this requirement, floors 5 to 15 hang from the tower like a rucksack and are self-supporting.

And for the tower to be able to hold the weight of the “rucksack”, the building’s shell had to reach all the way up to the 22nd floor.

DANUBEFLATS is made up of around 670 new apartments which meet the highest quality standards. This means that a significant number of individual tasks and custom requirements and lots of preparatory work need to be managed — so a digital platform for documentation and recording information is essential.

The solution: simplified defect management and custom requirements with PlanRadar

During construction of the DANUBEFLATS, PlanRadar is playing a key role in documentation, recording and correcting construction defects, and for handovers, and it also carefully incorporates custom requirements for the apartments. Traditionally, installation defects, construction damage or complaints as apartments were built were documented in writing with drawings, which could be ineffective, as working with paper plans is not only time consuming but expensive too.

The platform, which is always on hand for users on their tablets or smartphones on site, makes it possible for defects to be electronically recorded and saved, all with detailed descriptions, precise locations on plans and the option for photo documentation.

The real-time tracking of progress of defect elimination prevented delays and the coordination of the construction project has been streamlined through improved communication, saving a great deal of time and money. The platform’s intuitive use means that people working on the project do not need any training in how to use the software.

The result: efficient work processes and significant time savings

There are many important and instant benefits of using PlanRadar to build DANUBEFLATS. Firstly, the considerable time savings of 8 hours a week have to be mentioned – which represent a whole day of work for each PlanRadar user. In addition, work is streamlined, especially in terms of staffing resources. Users also benefit from quicker and more focused internal communication, taking the load off subcontractors and trades.

Important information about the construction project is documented and stored centrally. Offline plans mean that tickets can be accessed at any time.