Construction site of the week – Demolition of the university library in Dortmund

The old central library of TU Dortmund University from 1974 has been completely dismantled by DA member company Stricker Umwelttechnik GmbH since June 2024.

The extensive pollutant decontamination and subsequent gutting initially served to prepare the building for demolition. The aim of the measures is also to recycle as much of the old materials as possible. The sand-lime brick walls, which were installed in the basement and mezzanine of the building, are particularly suitable for this purpose.

Removal and recycling of sand-lime brick masonry

Once the building has been decontaminated and gutted, the masonry walls are removed by type (including the mortar bed). After interim storage at an external recycling site, the masonry is crushed to a grain size of 0 – 8 millimetres using mobile crushing and screening technology. Foreign matter is sorted out during the crushing process. The recycled, pure sand-lime brick material is then taken over by a sand-lime brick manufacturer. The material is processed into new sand-lime bricks using additional aggregates. Around 300 tonnes of sand-lime bricks are thus given a new life cycle and scarce landfill space is conserved.

The upper storeys are being demolished in bays and storeys from top to bottom using Hitachi KMC 500 longfront hydraulic excavators. The lower storeys are also being demolished from top to bottom using CAT 352 and CAT 336 hydraulic excavators.

Following the actual demolition, the site will be cleared, including deep rubble removal and unsealing of the site, and a soldier pile shoring, a bored pile wall and extensive underpinning work will be carried out to create a construction pit.

And the project will continue until around July 2025. The new central library is to be built on the site. It is expected that in 2029, up to 1 million books will once again find a home in a modern new building and students will have sufficient space for collaborative learning.

You can read more about this dismantling project in ABBRUCH AKTUELL 01/2025 (publication date: 14 March 2025).

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