Webnet fall protection for new school building

Initial situation and concept

A school campus featuring an integrated secondary school and a high school for approximately 1,600 students was built on Allee der Kosmonauten in Berlin-Lichtenberg. The building follows a compartment-based design: Independent learning areas provide space for different teaching formats, collaborative learning, and interaction.

The open floor areas and floor openings presented particular fall protection requirements inside the building. The project required a solution that would provide the necessary protection for occupants while preserving the building’s spatial transparency. Horizontally tensioned floor-opening nets protect the openings and also serve as fall stop nets.

Construction and implementation

The solution is Webnet stainless steel rope netting from Jakob Rope Systems. The translucent net surfaces have minimal impact on sightlines and allow daylight to continue reaching the areas below. Thanks to its flexible design, Webnet can be adapted to different opening geometries and structural conditions.

The German Institute for Building Technology (DIBt) lists the rope net system under national technical approval Z-14.7-557. The approval defines the covered configurations, fastening components, and permitted designs for vertical and horizontal fall protection.

Jakob Rope Systems designed and sized the net elements, lacing ropes, and fasteners for the school construction project to meet the project requirements and the specifications of the approval. The components were tailored to the specific project and professionally installed. The design also incorporated the necessary openings for the art installations.

In total, Jakob Rope Systems installed twelve floor nets with a combined area of 160 m². The design is tailored to the structural conditions and integrates seamlessly into the architecture.