LVM 5 Kristall, Münster

The new construction of the LVM 5 building in Münster was a very special project for us in our hometown. The 63m-high office tower on the campus of insurance company LVM Versicherung is a modern landmark in the Westphalian metropolis, and the project demanded the ultimate in precision and adherence to schedule from our construction site team. The building provides an additional 126,000m³ of space for the company. The contract included the structural work for 17 above-ground storeys and a three-storey basement, the manufacture of a construction pit featuring an anchored diaphragm wall, and drilling works to 140m below the surface for 51 geothermal probes.

A glass-clad German diamond sparkles above Münster

LVM Versicherung has been continuously expanding its head office since 1967. The design for the building on site 5 was created by HPP Architekten and Professor Duk-Kyu Ryang, and boasts striking stylistic elements. The interior façade is based on a rectangular floor plan, while the exterior of the building is broken up by multiple triangular elements. The facets and tapered points created by this feature gave the transparent tower its nickname of “the crystal”. At its highest point, the tower tilts at an angle of 6 degrees to just 8m away from the existing building. The two structures are connected by a glassed-in bridge at a height of 40m.

The project is also notable for its energy performance. With concrete core activation, a double façade, a triple-glazed interior façade and its own solar power system, the glass high-rise qualifies as an energy-plus building. The project has been awarded a Gold Certificate from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB).

Outstanding accuracy and punctuality

The four-storey building plinth features a reinforced concrete construction with wide-span underbeam and suspender beam ceilings. Angled walls erupt from the essentially rectangular structure in several places. The tower is supported by a braced exposed concrete staircase core with two lift shafts and four illuminated yellow exterior columns made from composite steel. The concrete-filled hollow profile columns with a solid core profile are flexibly built onto one another. More than 800kg of steel combination cleats connect the ceilings to the columns. This construction method ensured millimetric accuracy throughout the project. Despite the many different challenges presented by the ambitious project, our construction experts required just two weeks to complete each floor of the building. Around 2km of utility lines were installed for the concrete core activation, approximately 200m of electrical cable had to be laid and 50 embedded steel components were required.