A post last month at International Cranes’ website tells the story of one crane lifting another to the top of the iconic Tiffany & Company on Fifth Avenue in midtown New York City. Dubbed a “monumental crane lift” by McClaren Engineering Group, a 500-ton Liebherr LTM 1500 all-terrain crane raised an LTM 1300 mobile crane seven stories and placed it securely on the roof.
Historic Renovation
This lift was a vital part of Tiffany’s flagship store renovation. The historic limestone and granite Art Moderne style building dates back to the 1940s. The overall project is years-long, but this particular stage involves an extension that was built in 1980 and once housed offices. The area is being replaced with a tri-level addition featuring double height space that is free of columns and surrounded by two different glass facades. The goal is to attract interest from street level while maintaining energy efficiency.
Challenged by Regulations
New York City has restrictive building space regulations. This presented a challenge for initial rebuilding of the top three floors, in part, because crane and construction work at street level is not allowed during the period between a week before Thanksgiving through the week after New Year’s Day. Additional structural engineering was necessary to support the 205,000-pound crane once it was placed on the roof, so reinforcement was added to a couple of existing building columns.
This method of maintaining around-the-clock work while addressing NYC’s limiting construction regulations saved months of overall project time and millions of dollars.
Read the whole story at International Cranes’ by clicking here. Image above courtesy of their website.
April 6, 2021
