Construction Industry News
Two Liebherr 230 HC-L 8/16 and two EC-B cranes participated in the construction of the 128-metre-high hotel and office tower. After three and a half years, the 230 HC-L 8/16 has performed its last lift. With a final hook height of approx. 180 metres, the Liebherr luffing jib was the tallest crane on the "The Spin" project in Frankfurt - and also the last remaining crane on site. It was dismantled in mid-November. Previously, 230 HC-L 8/16 and two flat-top cranes, a 150 EC-B 8 and a 110 EC-B 6, had already been dismantled.
When the project department of Liebherr's Tower Crane Solutions started planning crane work almost five years ago, the decommissioning of the 230 HC-L 8/16 was already on the agenda. For a smooth descent, the crane had to be able to pass the new hotel and office tower with a radius of 55 meters without colliding with it. And that had to be done along a facade with several projections. The upper floors are each set at a slightly twisted angle to the lower one, so the 128-foot-tall tower lacks a uniform, smooth-running exterior. Moreover, there was little room for maneuver in the choice of the crane location due to the seclusion of the construction site and the busy Mainzer Land Strasse.
Minimum tension made interior fittings easier: Tower Crane Solutions solved this challenge with as much precision as the anchoring required for the HC-L. The movable slewing crane was climbed on the outside of the building. “The distraction required for this had to affect as few hotel rooms as possible,” explains Julia Wiebeck, project manager at Tower Crane Solutions. The interior work on the hotel started while the construction of the upper part of the tower was still in progress.
“If the men had blocked too many hotel rooms, it would have been difficult to keep to the interior work schedule,” says Julia Wiebeck. Liebherr and the project developer Gross & Partner came up with a solution for this together. The 230 HC-L 8/16 was anchored to the building with three guy ropes, two in the hotel area and one on the office floor. The crane climbed on a 2.4 x 2.4 meter 24 HC 630 tower system. The 230 HC-L 8/16, mounted on a 6 x 6 meter undercarriage, was the only crane to climb on this project.
High free-standing hook height achieved: Another 230 HC-L 8/16 was mounted free-standing on a mast height of 84.3 meters. It was not possible to place the crane directly on the tower, which meant there was no way to attach it to the building for external ascent. This exceptionally high freestanding hook height could only be achieved by using strong foundation anchors in combination with a tower combination of 24 HC 630 and 24 HC 1250 tower systems. Foundation anchors were also chosen for securing the 150 EC-B 8 and 110 EC-B 6 cranes.
“Given the inner city conditions, all assembly steps for the two 230 HC-L tower cranes and the two flat cranes required careful planning, preparation and handling by our customer GP Con and Nagel Bau Maschinen Frankfurt GmbH as sales and service partner. In cooperation with Liebherr Tower Crane Solutions, we have always found the right technically and economically feasible solution," says Sales Manager Jürgen Schmitt of Nagel Bau Maschinen Frankfurt GmbH.
“Working with Liebherr and Nagel was all about competence, professionalism and customer focus, from the first crane concept to the dismantling of the cranes. It meant meeting the demands of the inner city and overcoming complex construction conditions,” says Dennis Ferdinand, senior construction manager at GP Con GmbH. "By planning the use of the two high-rise cranes, the climbing phases could be compensated and an economical solution was achieved that still met the performance requirements."
The cranes helped with the construction of the tower and the development of the surrounding area. With intelligent assistance systems, such as the Micro move fine-positioning mode, the Liebherr cranes mainly helped with concrete, formwork and façade-related tasks. The luffing jib cranes were operated in 1-line mode for high and fast performance and were therefore capable of lifting operations weighing up to eight tons.
A distinctive tower design: And so, since the spring of 2019, a new tower has been rising on the Frankfurt skyline. "The Spin" is one of three tall buildings now erected on Güterplatz. Between the exhibition center and the central station, a new living and working area has been created on what was a vacant lot for decades. The 32-storey Spin Tower, designed by top architect Hadi Tehrani, offers space for a premium hotel, offices and a roof terrace with spectacular views.
According to project developer Gross & Partner, the tower impresses with a successful visual separation of its two functions: while the rising, smooth lower part will house the hotel, the upper part opens up with an angular floor design. It is this feature that gives the tower its distinctive character and name. The Spin Tower is easily accessible by public transport and the hotel is scheduled to open in the spring of 2023.
Tailor-made construction site solution: Tower Crane Solutions' invaluable expertise was crucial to the success of an inner-city construction project like this one. Protruding edges of adjacent buildings and cramped site conditions required careful crane selection and precise crane concept planning prior to construction. As a result, the limited space available on the 2,600 m² site was used effectively and efficiently for crane work.
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