Video: OCTAGON built the foundation in top- down system for Sky Tower- the tallest building in Romania

Reaching 137 m in height and counting 5 underground levels and 37 ground levels, Sky Tower is the tallest building in Romania. The building, located on Calea Floreasca is visible from any area of Bucharest. OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING built the foundation of Sky Tower and performed thus the deepest excavation in Romania, so far: 50 m. The infrastructure works also included the execution of diaphragm walls D 1,000, foundation barrettes D 600 and dewatering systems. OCTAGON performed the construction in top- down system of three reinforced concrete slabs, covering 4,600 sqm each. The video renders the entire execution process of the foundation works.

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Video: Hermes Business Campus- execution of building B

In June 2014 OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING delivered the first building of the office complex Hermes Business Campus (Dimitrie Pompeiu Blvd.- Bucharest). The construction of the building stretching over 36,000 sqm and counting 4B + 8 E+ Technical floor in height began in December 2010. OCTAGON is now working on the second stage of the complex- building C. Hermes Business Campus, the first project of the Belgian company Atenor Group in Romania, will have three development stages and will cover 78,000 sqm at the end.  OCTAGON won the Quality Trophy ARACO 2014 with this project. The video renders the execution stages of building B.

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The Advisers/ Knight Frank: Office take- up in Bucharest up by 12% in H 1 2014. First building of Hermes Business Campus, delivered by OCTAGON, fully leased

Office take-up in Bucharest amounted to 132,000 sqm in H1 2014, up by 12% year-on-year, according to the latest survey of The Advisers/ Knight Frank. Pre- leases and relocations each accounted for 29% of leasing deals, while renewals represented another 20%. Notably, firm expansions and new market entries are on the rise- representing 22% of activity- supported by strengthening economic conditions.  The Romanian economy powered ahead in 2013, with GDP growth exceeding expectations, reaching 3.5%. Growth of approximately 2.5% is forecast for 2014. Business sentiment continues to improve, with more international firms considering Bucharest as a major outsourcing location in Central and Eastern Europe.

Green Court Bucharest- building A

Occupiers in the IT & C sector were the most active players in the first half of 2014, with telecommunication providers Vodafone and Orange signing the two largest deals. Vodafone agreed to prelease 16,000 sqm in the Bucharest One project with the option to further expand, while Orange leased 13,700 sqm in Phase one of Skanska’s Green Court, delivered by OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING in 2013. OCTAGON also built the superstructure of the second building of Green Court office complex, located in northern Bucharest on Gara Herastrau Street.

Another A class office development built by OCTAGON, which was fully leased, is the first building of Hermes Business Campus, stretching over 37,000 sqm and rising eight floors above the ground. The building also has 4 basements, one ground floor and one technical floor. OCTAGON has just finished building the infrastructure of the second building of the project and is now working on the structure.

Hermes Business Campus- building B

Bucharest has recently seen a rise in development activity, with a total of nine new and refurbished schemes completed in H 1 2014, providing 120,000 sqm of class A space. The development pipeline has also expanded and currently stands at 200,000 sqm; of this, 55,000 sqm is expected to cover over H2 2014.

Despite the increase in new supply, the average vacancy rate for class A and B stock fell by 6 percentage points year-on-year to 17.4%. This is largely on the back of significant lettings at completed buildings, including the recently delivered Floreasca Park, which was fully leased by The Advisers/ Knight Frank.

Over H 1 2014, headline rents across all major submarkets remained stable. While headline prime office rents are expected to remain in the range of 18- 18.5 US per sqm per month, over the second half of the year, incentives are likely to harden slightly.

Hermes Business Campus- foundation works on building C

Investment market

The first half of 2014 saw a marked increase in property investment activity, with total volumes reaching a remarkable 460 million USD. Investment volumes in 2014 already exceed those of 2013 and, with several prime assets on the  market, further major transactions are expected to be completed in the second half of the year. 2014 is on the track to surpass the total amount transacted over the last two years, potentially breaking 2010’s record of 543 million USD.

While transaction activity was dominated by domestic restructuring deals, investment demand remains robust, with both domestic and international effort focused on office and retail assets in Bucharest.

While transaction activity was dominated by domestic restructuring deals, investment demand remains robust, with both domestic and international interest largely focused on office and retail assets in Bucharest.

The largest deal in H 1 2014 saw investment fund Globalworth purchase the Upground complex in Pipera from Deutsche Bank’s RREEF for some 200 million Euro. The deal included the sale of a residential compound, as well as both BOC and BOB towers, for 110 million and 42 million Euro respectively.

While the current strong economic backdrop is attracting greater investor interest, the limited availability of prime office stock across major markets has proven to be a hindrance to activity. However, this is set to change, as Bucharest’s stock of class A buildings continues to increase, helping to improve office market conditions and offering a wide range of opportunities to international investors.

As a result, prime office yields in Bucharest have seen moderate compression over the last twelve months, hardening by 25 bps to stand at 8.00%. Sustained investment demand over the second half of the year is likely to drive prime yields below 8.00%.

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OCTAGON awarded Quality Trophy ARACO 2014, for the project Hermes Business Campus

OCTAGON CONTRACTING & ENGINEERING was awarded the prize Quality Trophy ARACO 2014, for building B within the office complex Hermes Business Campus. Another nine reference projects performed by the companies Hidroconstructia, Bog’Art, Iamsat Muntenia, ACI Cluj, Iridex Group, IMSAT, Dedal Bahamat and the consortium Recon- Romelectro- Mitliv were awarded the same prize during a ceremony which was held Thursday, November 27th at Madgearu Hall within the exhibition center Romexpo, in Bucharest. This has been the 19th edition of ARACO Quality Trophy. The event is organized every year.

Quality Trophy ARACO 2014

OCTAGON was general contractor for building B within the office complex Hermes Business Campus, located on 5-7 Dimitrie Pompeiu Blvd. in Bucharest. The company delivered the works in June 2014. The complex which has been BREEAM certified with excellent grade for structure is the first investment of the Belgian group Atenor in Romania and will be built in several stages and will eventually cover 78,000 sqm.

Building B, the first one built within the complex, has a total area of 37,000 sqm and 4 basements + ground floor + eight floors+ technical floor.

The works began at the end of 2010, when OCTAGON won the infrastructure contract for the four underground levels. The geotechnical works performed by the company were the following:
• Diaphragm walls D 800 mm, h = 24,75 m; area = 7.600 sqm;
• Crown beam 0.65 m X 1,00 m- 297 m;
• Foundation piles D 1,500 mm and D 1,000 mm, h = 25,85 m;
• Test pilot;
• Manufacturing and installation of metal profiles for slab support;
• Manufacturing and installation of metal column heads for the support of slabs for the 3rd and 4th underground levels;
• Design and execution of dewatering system;
• General excavation to quota 13.72 (60,000 cubic meters).
• Construction in top- down system of two reinforced concrete slabs, covering 3,950 sqm each, for the underground levels 3 and 4;
• Construction of foundation raft 1.4 m, height – 6.261 cubic meters.

Hermes Business Campus- building B

The geotechnical works were delivered in October 2011.

In 2012 OCTAGON was contracted by Alpine Bau- the general contractor of the building back then, to perform the concrete reinforcement works for the superstructure.

In 2013 OCTAGON took over the general construction contract from the Austrian company and added a new work package to the contracted works, consisting in the execution of:
• Superstructure: ground floor, levels 1-8 and technical floor;
• Architecture works: walls, ceilings, floors, interior finishes, masonry and facade.
• Electrical installations;
• Sanitary installations;
• HVAC.

The company is currently performing the superstructure works on the second building- C, after delivering the special foundation works on the same building.

Hermes Business Campus- building C