Dubai Expo 2020, currently hosted in the United Arab Emirates, is a six-month event showcasing architecture, global culture and innovation that will bring together participants from 192 countries and six continents. The theme of the Dubai Expo is ‘Connecting Minds and Creating the Future’ through sustainability, mobility and opportunity.
The Expo includes the UAE Pavilion which was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and inspired by his observation of a falcon in flight. The area covers 15,000 square metres and includes 28 movable wing panels that represent the flow of the falcon’s movement. The wing panels can spread open within three minutes, covering a range of 110 and 125 degrees.
Installing the wing panels
Mammoet deployed one of its 750t crawler cranes – a Liebherr LR 1750 – to lift and install the wing panels of the UAE Pavilion roof. The weight of the panels ranged from 6t to 16t with lengths varying between 24m and 61m.
Due to the size of the panels and a large surface area to weight ratio, the permissible lifting wind speed was reduced to 3.4 metres per second to ensure safe operations. All panels were installed at night to accommodate the continuity of other construction activities at the UAE Pavilion during daylight hours.
Each panel was lifted at an outreach of 35m with the counterweight disconnected to accommodate the congested site requirements. After slewing the panel above the roof in line with the installation position, the counterweight was connected so the crane could boom out to 117.5m with sufficient capacity. Each panel was then safely lowered down to enable easy alignment for further securing.
Additionally, six mobile cranes – ranging in capacity from 50t to 350t – were deployed for installation of various structures at the Expo site, including bridge portals and the public spaces in concourses and arrival plazas.
The Dubai Expo 2020 has recorded over 10 million visits since its opening on October 1, 2021.
