New electrical engineering in a parliament building: Bringing in transformers in Berlin

Installation in the Berlin government district: This project was carried out by the Berlin SCHOLPP team right in the heart of the capital. Several components from a new electrotechnical system needed to be brought into a functional building of the German Bundestag. SCHOLPP was commissioned to carry out this project by the construction company Kraft und Lichtanlagen GmbH from Rüdersdorf near Berlin. The space available for maneuvering and positioning the components in the basement was tight, so the fitters had to use a couple of clever transport tricks.

The company Kraft und Lichtanlagen GmbH produces transformer stations and energy technology solutions, and connects them to the grid (up to 30kV) as well as to internal building pipeline systems. Another of its key services is the technical, economic and environmental optimization of electrical infrastructures such as the modernization of lighting systems. SCHOLPP had already carried out a number of transportation and installation projects for the Rüdersdorf-based electrical specialist, including in the Gendarmenmarkt square in Berlin.

Installation in the center of the capital city

This project was also carried out in the center of the capital city by the Berlin SCHOLPP team. The Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus (MELH) was getting new electrotechnical equipment. The building is located in Berlin’s government district, right on the River Spree and just next to the Federal Chancellery and the Reichstag building. As a functional building, the MELH is part of the Deutscher Bundestag constitutional body and includes areas such as the large committee room, the parliamentary library, the parliamentary archives and the offices for scientific specialist services.

A total of 75 switchgears and four transformers were to be transported into the building. The switchgears weighed a little over one metric ton, with the transformers tipping the scales at 4.3 metric tons and measuring around 2 x 2 meters. All of the system components were delivered from Rüdersdorf to the construction site by the manufacturer and client. The SCHOLPP team was responsible for the bringing in, the lateral transport and the positioning. However, the spatial conditions meant that it was not possible to transport the components via the normal entrance and stairwell. An entry point in front of the building was therefore used to lift the electrotechnical systems directly into the third basement floor of the building using the mobile crane (50 and 100 metric tons).

Turning over and setting up with a low ceiling height

The spatial conditions made the lateral transport in the basement a rather tricky procedure. The low ceiling height meant that the systems had to be turned over for maneuver, and there was then an intermediate floor to be handled before the parts could be set up again and positioned in accordance with the construction plan. Some of the smaller switchgears were placed one on top of the other. This is where the tried-and-tested SCHOLPP installation equipment came in: extremely stable and compact aluminum gantries, flexible mobile lift trucks and high-platform truck.

The construction situation meant that the project couldn’t be completed in one go, but had to be split into individual steps over a period of several weeks. SCHOLPP coordinated the timings for the project together with the client Kraft und Lichtanlagen. All of the systems were in their installation positions according to schedule.