"Crocodile" Building in the Lokstadt Area Development in Winterthur, Switzerland

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Timber and Concrete Building

Dlubal customer Timbatec Timber Construction Engineers Switzerland Ltd. was responsible for the structural analysis of the timber structure and decided to use RSTAB.

The name "Lokstadt" was chosen because locomotives and other machines were once built on the site. From 1850 to 2010 Lokstadt was the most important production site for new locomotives and trains in Switzerland. The first electric Gotthard locomotive, the "Crocodile", started production here in 1919. The name of the first building to be completed pays homage to this legendary locomotive.

Structure

The "Crocodile" building is a six- to eight-story timber structure. It has a ring-like shape surrounding a courtyard and external dimensions of 348 ft in length, 213 ft in width, and 82 ft in height. The new building, with about 322,917 ft² of net internal area, houses 248 cooperative, rented, and owner-occupied apartments, as well as commercial space on the main floor.

The structure is a mixture of reinforced concrete and timber framing. The basement, part of the main floor, and the stairwells were made of reinforced concrete. The structural system of the rest of the building consists of glued-laminated timber columns and beams as well as large cross-laminated timber panels serving as floor slabs or hollow box elements for the roof. The CLT slabs have a length of up to 62 ft and a weight of up to 5.512 tons. The outer walls consist of prefabricated timber frame elements, including factory-installed windows.

This timber structure is a major contributor in preventing climate change. The timber used in the "Crocodile" building removes 7,070 tons of CO₂ from the environment and stores it on a long-term basis.

Source: Konstruktiver Ingenieurbau 04/2022, pp. 23-30