The celebrations to mark the opening of the Archaeology Lab on Petriplatz in Berlin took place on June 24. The new building stands on a historically significant site: It was here that in 2007–9 excavations brought to light some of the oldest traces of Berlin’s history. The historical foundations of the old grammar school dating from the 14th century and the remains of St. Peter’s Church were integrated into the design by Florian Nagler Architekten. The result is a seven-story, multifunctional building with exhibition space, offices, and restoration workshops, in the basement of which the old settlement structure of the town can be viewed by the public.
For this project, we were commissioned with the structural design of the building and the outdoor facilities, the site and structural planning of the excavation pit, and the engineering inspections. PETRI posed a number of challenges in its implementation. For example, the approximately 35-meter-long large bored piles had to be carefully placed between the archaeological finds. Long-span composite girder ceilings and complex building supports create a column-free view of the excavations, while radiation-proof barite concrete protects employees as they work with the large X-ray machine. In the storage area, meanwhile, ceiling loads of up to 15 KN/m² had to be taken into account for the heavy-duty shelving.
Now anyone who is interested can learn more about archaeology – and we hope they all enjoy doing so!
