BudaPart Central (BOIJ) facade

The building
As part of the development of the new BudaPart district in Budapest, the BudaPart Central (BOIJ) office building is being constructed with a floor area of approximately 37,000 m². The structural design of the building was carried out by our office (ESIKON Ltd.) as the lead structural engineer. The building consists of 3 basement levels + ground floor + 7 upper floors, all formed from a monolithic reinforced concrete frame structure. The façade is composed of prefabricated reinforced concrete sandwich panels, manufactured by PREbeton Zrt. Our office was also responsible for the detailed shopwork drawings, completed using Tekla Structures software. The total area of the façade is 7240m2, which consists of 440pcs of panels, required 832pcs of drawings. During the production 1225m3 concrete and 825m3 isolation were used.

The precast sandwich wall panels
These wall panels form an integral part of the load-bearing system, contributing not only to vertical load transfer but also to the lateral stability of the building. Each panel consists of a 20 cm thick structural core, 14 cm of thermal insulation, and a 7 cm outer shell. The external surface features a patterned finish created with form liners. Panel dimensions were optimized for transport, with a typical size of 5.40 x 3.60 meters—the maximum allowable within standard road clearance profiles, coordinated with the typical 135cm grid used in office buildings. The weight of each element is limited to 10.5 tonnes to accommodate crane capacities on site.
The façade is made up of “M”-shaped, double-gated panel elements, designed in three base variants by offsetting the opening positions. These types are arranged in a seemingly random sequence along the façade, creating a playful and dynamic visual rhythm. Additional subtypes were developed for corner conditions, and the panels were categorized into two structural load classes: levels 1–3 and levels 4–7. In certain sections of the building, inverted U-shaped single-gate panels were used. At one building corner, where a staircase is located, the façade panels feature a gate shaped outer shell but a solid structural core. On the southern elevation, slender structural shear wall segments were designed with a 30 cm thick core layer due to high inner forces.

Detailing and manufacturing
Panel production was carried out horizontally on tilting casting beds. Transportation was carried out using low-loader pallet transporters (Flatliners). The outer shell was reinforced using welded mesh, while the load-bearing core was detailed with preassembled column and beam type reinforcement cages. The individual layers of the panel are connected using stainless steel connector plates, torsion tubes, and U-shaped bars. The wall-to-slab connections are designed using zipper rebar connectors. Vertical connections between stacked panels are achieved with rebar couplers, while horizontal joints between adjacent panels are made using custom in-situ reinforcement, completed with concrete pour.

Why Tekla?
While the façade was initially conceived with just three panel types, further detailing revealed a high number of unique elements. Tekla Structures proved invaluable in managing these variations, especially for components that differed in only minor details. The software’s powerful documentation tools made it possible to handle this volume of drawings efficiently. Automatic drawing cloning greatly accelerated the creation of similar panel designs, a level of efficiency essential to maintaining the production schedule.
We developed the full geometry, reinforcement, and embedded part layout of each element to production-detailing level within Tekla. The 3D reinforcement model was particularly helpful in detecting and resolving rebar clashes in advance, minimizing on-site issues and avoiding production delays.
Access to ready-made components in the Tekla Warehouse made it easier to model the embedded items accurately. Their parameterizability and automatic listing capabilities ensured precise material BoQ-s and enabled quick updates when design changes occurred.