BMW Factory Debrecen - Structural Integrity Assessment
Expert consulting and structural review for the Press Shop and Body Shop roof structures
Structural Highlights
- Press Shop (TU): The structure consists of rigid steel frames resting on precast reinforced concrete columns, which are fixed in pile cap beams and rigidly connected to a reinforced concrete slab. The high-rise columns were specially designed for heavy cranes needed for transporting the presses.
- Body Shop (TKB): The roof is designed as a steel truss system on a 15 m x 15 m grid, supported by precast columns fixed via sleeves into the pile cap beams. The floor slab was constructed as fiber-reinforced concrete to minimize shrinkage and cracking, making traditional reinforcement unnecessary.
- Advanced structural analysis to optimize efficiency within Eurocode safety framework
- Independent review of connection designs and MEP platform installations
Facts
- Location: Debrecen, Hungary
- Client: BMW Group
- Role: Expert consulting and structural review
- Scope: Press Shop (TU) and Body Shop (TKB) roof structures
- Services: Independent structural calculations review, technical workshops
- The new BMW factory in Debrecen, at 4,000,000 m², is twice the size of the state of Monaco.
EHS Engineering & Consulting was engaged to evaluate the structural integrity of the steel roof systems for BMW’s new Press Shop (TU) and Body Shop (TKB) in Debrecen. Canberk Ergin, with prior experience as project leader at Bollinger + Grohmann, was appointed by BMW to provide expert consulting support and ensure that the execution and design validation carried out by the General Contractor met safety standards. While Bollinger + Grohmann handled the overall structural design, the General Contractor Yapi Merkezi was responsible for detailed connection design and MEP roof platforms, which required approval from a Hungarian Engineer of Record. EHS independently reviewed calculations, participated in workshops, and delivered transparent feedback to the client. The Press Shop’s roof structure consisted of rigid steel frames supported by precast reinforced concrete columns clamped to pile caps and connected to a reinforced concrete slab, with tall columns designed for heavy-duty crane loads. The Body Shop featured a steel truss roof on a 15 m x 15 m grid, supported by precast columns anchored into pile caps, with a fibre-reinforced concrete slab that reduced shrinkage and cracking without conventional reinforcement. These technical solutions reflected the complexity and high-load demands of the factory’s production processes. Key challenges included processing large volumes of documentation from multiple design teams with poorly defined interfaces and assessing the contractor’s varied joint proposals based on differing assumptions. EHS demonstrated through advanced analysis that many of the retrofitting requirements suggested by the Engineer of Record were unnecessary. By applying Eurocode-based safety principles, load combinations, plastic design methods, and careful consideration of local singularities, the team ensured maximum efficiency without compromising safety, embodying EHS’s philosophy of leveraging modern structural analysis tools to balance safety with structural economy.
