This week, the team and students of the Institute of Geotechnics at TU Darmstadt had the special opportunity to visit the construction site of the Central Business Tower in Frankfurt. Germany's deepest excavation pit with an impressive depth of 26 metres is currently being built for this high-rise project, embedded in the narrow urban conditions of Frankfurt's banking district.

A theoretical introduction to the complex planning processes and geotechnical challenges of the project impressively demonstrated what the planning team has achieved together up to this point. The group was then allowed to descend to the base of the construction pit themselves. They were able to view all levels of the cover construction at various stages and explain particularly challenging details. One highlight was the exposed limestone beds, which were visible between layers of Frankfurt clay.

Many thanks go to Züblin (Mr Markus Wegerl and Mr Matthias Feuersänger) and to Mr Matthias Seip from the Ingenieursozietät Katzenbach, who made this visit possible and guided us through the construction project. We then rounded off the eventful afternoon with a cosy get-together in the Sachsenhausen district of Frankfurt.