Building Brazil

In São Paul, contractor ETC is using the first Liebherr 71 EC-B delivered to the country to construct a three-tower condominium. The project will see the 20-storey Solaris, 23-storey Vitalis and 23-storey Acqua towers emerge on the Casa Verde skyline. The 71 EC-B is being used to lift rebar, timber formwork and concrete used during the construction process, and has been positioned on the footprint of Vitalis, the centre tower, to maximise its work radius. With a 50m jib, it is able to cover both Vitalis and Acqua and three quarters of Solaris. Two tie bars on the external walls of Vitalis mean the tower will have a final hook height of 89.20m.

In Belo Horizonte, the state capital of Minas Gerais, crane rental company Construservice has supplied five further Liebherrs, including four 110 EC-B models and a 98.3 HC, for the construction of a purpose-built complex to centralise the state’s government departments and administrative offices. This will include the Governor’s Palace, two identical secretariat towers and a low-rise recreational building.

Two of the 110 EC-B cranes are being used to construct the 38m-high Governor’s Palace tower, carrying out a variety of craneage duties. They have been installed with 50m jibs.

The other two 110 EC-B towers and the 98.3 HC are working on the second secretariat tower. The 98.3 HC has been installed with a jib length of 55m and a final hook height of 77.8m, while the 110 EC-Bs have a jib length of 50m and a final hook height of 69.5m.

In both instances, the tower cranes are being used in place of traditional high-rise construction methods, which include using material hoists and a large workforce.

“It is so much more efficient and provides so many cost saving benefits,” said ETC’s project manager Marcos Fernandes.

“We still use the hoist for small material lifts such as sand and blocks for the wall infill, plus of course the workforce.”