By combining an intuitive 3D user interface with advanced structural calculations, automated workflows, and comprehensive reporting, the application enables engineers to design safer, faster, and more efficiently while complying with Eurocode requirements.
Key features at a glance:
- Project features that boost productivity – Flexible project management, support for 20 Eurocode National Annexes, nine languages, customizable design settings, and collaboration features for multi-user projects.
- Maximum freedom in geometry definition – Create virtually any balcony configuration using editable 3D geometry, predefined templates, custom shapes, openings, supports, and material properties.
- Simple definition of loads – Define permanent, variable, seismic, and other load types directly in the 3D model with automatic Eurocode-compliant load categorization.
- Intelligent connector layout and placement – Efficiently place and optimize connector layouts using automatic placement, multiple connector types, and clash prevention features.
- Advanced structural analysis with interactive results – Perform FEM-based structural analysis and visualize internal forces, deflections, and ULS/SLS results interactively in 3D while retaining full design flexibility.
- Comprehensive reporting and bill of quantities – Generate professional PDF reports, consolidated Bills of Quantities, and export data in CSV and DXF formats for seamless integration with CAD and production workflows.
Project features that boost productivity
Available in nine languages — English, Dutch, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, and Slovak — BALCONY CONNECTION helps engineering teams across Europe work more efficiently in their preferred language.
With support for 20 Eurocode National Annexes, as well as the plain Eurocode and custom design settings, the application ensures compliance with local design requirements while giving engineers the flexibility to optimize calculations for individual projects.
Design optimization is now even easier with the ability to set the maximum utilization ratio for connectors. By specifying an acceptable utilization target between 20% and 103%, designers can fine-tune connection selection to match project-specific optimization goals, whether the priority is minimizing material usage or providing additional design margin.
BALCONY CONNECTION also includes project management features. Multiple users can be added to the same project with different roles, such as Owner, Editor, or Viewer. This makes collaboration easier and ensures that project information is not accessible only to one user.
Maximum freedom in the geometry definition
BALCONY CONNECTION is designed to cover a wide range of balcony geometries. It supports both linear and point arrangements of load-bearing thermal insulation elements for economical design.
Designers can:
- Use predefined balcony geometries or define their own.
- Design balcony-to-slab and balcony-to-wall connections.
- Specify openings, lifting anchor reservations, and point supports.
- Modify the material properties of the concrete objects
This makes both the design tool and Peikko’s balcony connectors suitable for cantilever, corner, loggia, and supported balcony variants in both cast-in-place and precast construction.
Outer corner balcony shape with editable dimensions in 3D.
Simple definition of loads
BALCONY CONNECTION enables designers to quickly and intuitively define all loads acting on a balcony. Permanent loads, variable loads, railing loads, additional point, line, and area loads, and even bending moments can be applied directly in 3D. Variable loads are automatically categorized according to the selected Eurocode National Annex to ensure accurate, code-compliant design.
The application also supports defining horizontal loads required for seismic design, helping engineers evaluate balcony connections under seismic loading. This enables more comprehensive structural verification for projects located in seismic regions while complying with relevant Eurocode design requirements.
Permanent loads input dialog with all applied loads visualized.
Intelligent connector layout and placement
BALCONY CONNECTION makes the connector layout fast, accurate, and highly flexible. Engineers can efficiently place all supported connector types, including Fixed connectors, Hinged connectors, Spacers, Horizontal connectors, and Corner connectors, using an intuitive graphical interface that provides immediate visual feedback.
For greater productivity, an automatic placement feature generates an optimized connector layout that engineers can further refine if needed. This significantly reduces manual work while ensuring an efficient and practical connection arrangement.
The application also includes a concrete cover adjustment for Fixed connectors, making it easy to avoid clashes between connectors located on adjacent balcony edges while maintaining the required concrete cover.
Connector layout for a cantilever balcony with applied seismic loads.
Advanced structural analysis with interactive results
At the heart of BALCONY CONNECTION is a powerful structural analysis engine that performs internal force calculations using an external finite element (FEM) solver in accordance with EN 1990 and ETA 23/0525. This ensures accurate and reliable analysis of balcony slabs under realistic loading conditions, giving engineers confidence in every design.
The calculation results are presented via an intuitive, interactive 3D interface, making it easy to understand the balcony's structural behavior. Engineers can visualize bending moments, shear forces, deflections, and comprehensive Ultimate Limit State (ULS), Serviceability Limit State (SLS), and load combination results directly within the model, enabling faster design verification and more informed engineering decisions.
To support an efficient design workflow, connector selection remains fully flexible even after structural analysis is complete. Engineers can compare different connector models and immediately evaluate their impact on the design without having to redefine the entire model, significantly accelerating the optimization process.
Visualization of shear force results for a simple cantilever balcony at the Ultimate Limit State (ULS).
Comprehensive reporting and bill of quantities
Generating project documentation is quick and straightforward with BALCONY CONNECTION. The application produces well-structured PDF reports that present all essential design information in a clear, compact, and easy-to-review format, while a simplified printing interface makes selecting the required output effortless and tailored to different needs.
To further streamline project workflows, Bills of Quantities (BoQs) can be exported in CSV format for seamless use in spreadsheet software and other downstream processes. When multiple balcony connections are included in a project, the application can also compile the products from all printed connections into a single, consolidated Bill of Quantities, simplifying material estimation, procurement, and project documentation.
The application also supports DXF export, allowing balcony connection layouts to be transferred directly to CAD software for further detailing and documentation. This reduces manual drafting, minimizes the risk of transcription errors, and enables a smoother workflow between structural design and production, helping engineers save time while improving collaboration across project teams.
In summary
Peikko Designer® BALCONY CONNECTION is designed to remove unnecessary complexity from balcony connection design. By automating repetitive tasks, streamlining collaboration, and combining powerful engineering tools within an intuitive workflow, it enables engineers to focus on what matters most - delivering safe, economical, and buildable designs.
The result is faster project delivery, higher-quality designs, improved collaboration between project stakeholders, and greater confidence throughout the entire design process.
Experience BALCONY CONNECTION yourself and discover how it can simplify your daily engineering work. We continuously enhance Peikko Designer® based on user feedback, and we welcome your ideas and suggestions for further improvements. To learn more about the application, visit www.peikkodesigner.com.
