Hotel Stadt Lörrach stands tall, thanks to Scanclimber’s efficient solutions

Mast climbing work platforms, in tandem with monorail lifting equipment, provided an efficient solution for the demanding façade element installation work at Hotel Stadt Lörrach. Lörrach is situated in south-west Germany, near the border with France and Switzerland. Though the city is culturally and economically significant and boasts some rich historical monuments, Lörrach had only a few three-star hotels but no four-star hotel - for which there was a need. It is expected to benefit the city’s development plans and to increase tourism in the area.

Project Summary

The foundations of Hotel Stadt Lörrach were laid in 2014 with completion set for 2016. The construction of this four-star plus hotel was planned for a site on a main avenue adjacent to Lörrach railway station, near the city center. Upon completion, Hotel Stadt Lörrach would be a 20-storey building, hosting 221 rooms. The construction budget runs to around one million euros per floor, excluding exterior design.

Challenge

The construction site, being on a main avenue, presented a major challenge concerning the lack of operational space available. There was a requirement to lift high volumes of material and personnel to accelerate the construction process once the main structure was erected. Scanclimber provided safe and reliable transportation hoists and platforms. The machines took less space and installation time as compared to scaffolding.

Lifting the heavy façade elements in to position posed an additional challenge. It was not possible to lift these elements, along with personnel and tools, using Scanclimber MCWP’s. Ultimately, Scanclimber delivered monorails which facilitated lifting the façade elements. These monorails were installed around the building’s rooftop.

Use of Monorail

Apart from Scanclimber mast climbing work platforms and construction hoists, monorails were also used on this project. The monorails were attached at the top of each side of the building. The monorail payload capacity was 500 kg. The monorail hoists’ vertical travel was controlled remotely for lifting the façade elements. Horizontal travel was done manually. The workers slid the façade elements, attached to the monorail above, to their attachment position. The monorail was able to move along the top of each side, helping to cover the whole façade. This enabled considerably easier manhandling of the heavy façade elements. Three twin monorails covered three sides of the building from the top while two single monorails were attached on top of the fourth side, on which hoists were also installed.

Combination of Monorail and Scanclimber MCWP’s

The special feature of this project was the coordinated use of mast climbing work platforms with the monorail system. The working procedure at the construction site was such that first the mast climbing platform was loaded with 4-5 façade elements at ground level and three people on the platform. Typically, two of the workers were involved in the installation of the façade elements. The third person on the platform was usually the worksite manager, controlling the monorail and platform. This work process coordination resulted in greater efficiency, as the movement of monorail and platform needed to be synchronized.

The installation process for the façade elements was as follows,

• The façade element was fastened to the monorail winches
• Monorail was then used to lift the façade element
• The façade element was then aligned and placed in its attachment position
• The platform was then lowered or raised so that it was at the correct height for workers to attach the elements
• The monorail and platform had to be maneuvered in a way that required the least effort in manhandlimg the heavy façade elements for alignment and installation.

Scanclimber’s Machinery Used

In December 2015, Scanclimber Wega hoist, SC2032 was erected. After its successful erection, another hoist was added to the mast making it a twin-hoists configuration. A month later in January, 2016, a total of eight Scanclimber SC4000 and SC5000 mast climbing platforms were installed with monorails at rooftop level.

Hotel Lörrach Stadt is located in the busiest part of the city and should readily attract tourists and businesspeople. The construction costs of this project were significant due to its location.

Thomas Schwind, advisor to the owner said, each floor will cost at least a million euros.

This did not include anything except the 20 floors, with exterior design and other stages adding further to costs. The association of such high costs with this project increased the importance of Scanclimber solutions to an even larger extent.

This is a result of which we had initially not dared to dream of, said Peter Külby by architects Külby + Külby, Lörrach.

Scanclimber is proud to be a part of a new era for the city after the completion of this project, in terms of development, infrastructure and tourism.