international
construction
september 2014
HIGHRISE
40
Topping out
The development consists of 44 blocks being built on a 300-
acre site on theAnatolia side of Istanbul.Tomaximise the views
from the high-rise towers, many of the taller structures have
been designed in an oval, and feature floor-to-ceilingwindows.
Tight spot
InMunich’s old town, aWolff166B cranewithhydraulic luffing
gear is helping build a new office building in a tight corner of
the city.
Construction work is ongoing in adjacent sites, which is
why the contractor Riedel Bau opted for the compact flat-top
crane.The crane’s luffing jib can be raised to an almost vertical
position, meaning it takes upminimal spacewhennot in use.
“Because of its design, theWolff can slew in theminimum of
space without projecting beyond the site, meaning that we can
work without any danger of collision,” saidNorbert Zährl, site
manager for Riedel Bau.
In Russia, a Potain tower crane is at the centre of one of
Moscow’s tallest newbuildings.TheMD265B crane isworking
on EvolutionTower, a 53-storeymixed-use development in the
Russian capital’s newUS$ 15 billionfinancial district.
Potain’s MD 265 B offers a maximum jib length of 65m, at
which it can lift 2.85 tonnes.
Evolution Tower features a unique spiral design where each
floor is twisted 3º in relation to the floor below, meaning the
whole buildingmoves over a course of 135º.
Meanwhile, in China six Potain tower cranes have been used
to build two 280 m tall bridge pylons. The cranes spent two-
and-a-half years building the pylons at
theChishiGrandBridge,whichwill span
1,470 m and carry its road deck 180 m
above the ground. The bridge will open
at the end of this year.
The cranes on site included two MC
200s and two cranes thatmix themast of
anMC 480 with the jib of anMC 320
K16.
High rise construction has come a long
way in the past decade and, with the first
mile high building possibly only 20 years
away, industry developments look set to
continue in leaps and bounds. What will
be the final topping out height?Andwhat
product innovations will manufacturers
magicup tokeep their products topof the
game? Interesting times certainly lie ahead
as lofty ambitions turn into reality.
iC
Peri has supplied formwork and
scaffolding for theWarsaw Spire office
tower, which, at a height of 220m, will
be the tallest office building inWarsaw
on completion.
Reed’s new C90SModel High-Rise Concrete Pump is
specifically designed formid-rise and high-risework.
Saltec Torgar has four single cabin
and one twin cabin T1 passenger
andmaterial hoistsworking on the
landmark Sagrada Família in Barcelona
(Photo courtesy of Rob Tams).
