Projekt B.R.I.O.: Reaching for the sky with Özlem
She is not just aiming high. She is already up there. Every day, Özlem looks down on the construction site from her crane and moves heavy loads. We visited her at one of our most sustainable projects in summer. And I’m glad that I didn’t have to see her in her crane cab for our conversation.
My knees are like jelly. And I feel a little dizzy. I’m just imagining myself climbing up there. I’m not actually doing it. The crane is 60 metres high. It sways back and forth as soon as the wind blows. And it’s almost always blowing in Vienna. Ten PORRians couldn’t get me up there. But when Özlem sets off to her workplace, she is full of enthusiasm. “It takes me about five to seven minutes to get to the top,” she says, as if it were a leisurely stroll.
Tallest timber-concrete hybrid residential building
I visit the crane operator at the Neues Landgut urban development site in Vienna-Favoriten. Here, PORR has realised the country's tallest timber hybrid housing project for ÖSW, Österreichisches Siedlungswerk. B.R.I.O. combines state-of-the-art construction methods with sustainability. A serial construction method with a high proportion of prefabricated timber and concrete elements was used. The combination of such prefabricated parts, solid timber components and prefabricated timber frame walls enabled the construction process to be significantly optimised. At the same time, the concept saves around 20%CO2 compared to conventional reinforced concrete construction - a clear commitment to climate protection and resource conservation. A special highlight was the innovative construction method with solid concrete elements including integrated component activation - an energy-efficient heating and cooling system that utilises the thermal storage mass of the concrete components. These elements rest on around 900 glulam supports, which are arranged in a grid pattern on the façade and inside the building. The system not only ensures stability, but also a high repetition rate for the connection details. And that means real progress for serial and sustainable construction.
Tallest crane
It's summer. The construction work is still in full swing. And Özlem is sitting here on the highest of the three cranes - at the time of my visit, she is already working on another project. She has been a crane operator since 2017. "And I've been a proud PORRian since 10 June 2024. Other crane drivers said I should join PORR. And I'm very glad that I did." Her working day starts at 6.30 am. And once she's up in her cabin, she doesn't come down any time soon. "I take a snack and lots of water with me in the morning because it can get pretty hot in summer. I'm usually on the crane all the time, sometimes I climb down at lunchtime, but time passes very quickly up there," says Özlem. And we all know that time passes most quickly when we're doing what we enjoy. The working day is over for her at 5.30 pm. Unless there are urgent and important things to do.
Strict requirements
For this story, I not only want to talk to Özlem, but also take a few portrait photos of her. She climbed down to me especially for this. It wouldn't have worked the other way round with my fear of heights. Thank you, Özlem. But still: it's nine storeys up and up a ladder to one of the roofs of the B.R.I.O. Admittedly, the view over Vienna is unique. But that's high enough for me. Not for Özlem. "I love working at lofty heights. I feel as free as a bird," she says. "Of course, you have to be free from giddiness if you want to be a crane operator. And you have to be fit because you have to climb up the ladder into the cabin every day. Some days even several times." You also have to be a team player and very independent at the same time. However, she didn't actually want to work on the construction site. As a child, Özlem would have liked to be a police officer. And she could well imagine a career in the army. In any case, we are glad that she decided in favour of PORR. Because when you enjoy your job as much as Özlem does, you do it particularly well. And you infect others with your enthusiasm.
