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Styria Media Center

Facts and Figures
Company PORR Bau GmbH
Principal SMC Graz GmbH
Location Graz - Austria
Type Office, Construction supervision
Runtime 02.2013 - 12.2014

LEED Gold for one of the most modern buildings in Styria.

In February 2013, PORR was commissioned with the construction of the publishing house of Styria Media AG in Graz. The construction scheme marked one of the largest building construction projects in Styria to date.

The building with its 14 storeys and a height of some 60m was erected on a lot 5,387m² in size located directly opposite of the Graz Exhibition Centre. The two-storey base storey houses the foyer, a kindergarten, a bank, restaurants and Styria Media Center’s central element, the news room. It fills the entire first floor and houses the editorial team of Kleine Zeitung newspaper and the recording studio belonging to the radio station Antenne Steiermark. Located on the curved tower floors are further offices belonging to the various group companies as well as a “Sky Lobby” which is found on the 14th floor.

During the construction of the building carcass, the erection of the kidney-shaped central staircase presented a special challenge. This structure, after all, had to be built in exposed concrete quality. Adding to this was the building’s 10-m overhang starting on the third floor. Carcass construction took eleven months. Two revolving tower cranes as well as rapid construction crane were used in the process and some 16,000m³ of concrete and 1,700t of reinforcing steel were installed. 

The tower element’s foundation was reinforced with 84 bored piles with diameters of 90cm and individual lengths of 10 to 16m while the core and the ceilings were built in two stages, which allowed for a work cycle of ten work days per standard floor. Also when it came to installing the windows, efficient planning was key since a very tight schedule had to be met. However, due to the fact that they could be installed trailing three storeys, we were able to start with interior fit-out in due time. Once the carcass had been completed, we could install the parapet glazing and the characteristic two-tone pilaster strips using work platforms.

Styria Media Center’s power supply is taken care of by means of district heating, thermal ground water utilisation and a solar power system. The building’s sustainable energy concept was pre-certified and awarded a LEED Gold award, thus being named a Green Building, as early as in the implementation phase.

Ready for occupancy, the office building for 1,200 employees including a multi-storey car park for 206 cars and adjacent park was handed over to the client in late 2014.