"Study Aparts" – Modular Construction for 420 Student Apartments
Implementing large-scale construction projects according to current specifications, within the set economic framework, and within tight timescales is a real challenge – and this is also the case in the federal capital, Berlin. To reduce costs, ease complexity, and make the construction process more predictable, Central Berlin Wohnen GmbH relies on modular construction. In 2019, a student residence for a total of 420 students was built in Berlin-Reinickendorf. The project was constructed from prefabricated reinforced concrete room modules, including prefabricated installation walls for the building services and plumbing. Prefabrication not only saved costs but also construction time, while creating a significant amount of living space.
Completed in just 13 months
The five-story building called "Study Aparts" was built on Von-der-Gablentz-Straße. Thanks to Lechner Projektbau GmbH's modular construction method, it took only 13 months from groundbreaking to occupancy of the apartments. The first students moved into the building in 2020, with a gross floor area of 15,605 m², with the one-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 19 to 35 m².
Advantage upon advantage
With a prefabrication level of over 90 percent, each room module was manufactured and furnished ready for occupancy in the German Modular House Factory. This reduced construction time by up to 50 percent compared to conventional solid construction. Christian Hanisch, engineer and technical project manager at the Lechner Group, explains: "With the construction of the foundations, we simultaneously started production of the room modules in the factory."
But it wasn't just the time advantage that offered decisive advantages for the modular construction method. Quality also reached a significantly higher level, as Hanisch further reports. Industrial prefabrication allowed for significantly tighter dimensional tolerances. Likewise, the overall production logistics and material supply were far less complex than on a large-scale construction site. Despite all its advantages, modular construction required almost complete construction planning right from the start of construction. Extensive additional costs were thus almost entirely eliminated, ensuring project implementation remained within budget. For the "Study Aparts" in Berlin, the construction and planning costs amounted to just under €30 million.
TECEsystem – perfecting modular construction
Construction with modules required early, comprehensive planning. This was particularly evident in the building services: The allocation of the shafts and thus the piping dimensions for heating, ventilation, wastewater, and drinking water had to be determined when the room modules were cast. Therefore, TECE cooperated with the Lechner Group right from the early planning phase. The corresponding plumbing registers were planned together with the responsible building services engineer, Stefano Migliore, whom TECE already knew from previous projects, and the lead architectural firm, IHT Planungsgesellschaft mbH. This enabled TECE to ensure a smooth production process. The industrially manufactured room modules and their necessarily tight dimensional tolerances meant that the registers could always be constructed identically. To fine-tune the registers and shaft layout, TECE provided a 3D drawing to Deutsche Modulhausfabrik for further planning and production. Thanks to the detailed planning of the entire installation, it was approved for fire protection acceptance during construction.
The "Study Aparts" demonstrate that modular construction is a pioneering model for other comparable projects in terms of cost, time, quality, and streamlined processes.
