Belastungsprüfung im Kaufhaus Görlitz

The art nouveau department store in Gorlitz is considered the last remaining architectural testimony to the German department store architecture of the early 20(th) century. The entire building will undergo a complete renovation 106 years after its original opening date. Due to increased loads and additional requirements of current technical standards, the permissible loads of the existing slabs had to be reassessed. The Otto Mohr Laboratory of the Institute of Concrete Structures at TU Dresden carried out load tests on a total of ten slab sections of the department store. The structural slabs consist of so called "Reformhohlsteindecken" which are a reinforced concrete slab with ribs on top of shaped hollow bricks, a system commonly used during this area. The necessary load bearing capacity could be verified experimentally with especially designed steel trusses and hydraulic presses.