In Midtown Manhattan, New York City, a new residential skyscraper, 610 Lexington Avenue, will rise to 65 stories after completion. Originally conceived to house a Shangri-La Hotel and condos, the 712-foot-tall, 4,000-square-foot tower will instead feature 17 residences on the 52nd to 63rd floors. Additionally, there will be commercial space on the ground floor, a restaurant on the second floor, and office space on the third floor. The 9th floor will feature a swimming pool.
RIGHT TOOLS FOR HEIGHT
Navillus Contracting brought in Doka because of their previous strong working relationship. Also, Doka’s hydraulic climbing systems would offer superior labor and time savings needed for the project.
During the planning process, several considerations were made which involved Doka’s products. To begin with, in anticipation of the several belt or transfer walls, the Xclimb 60 climbing platforms with custom slab mount shoes were used. In addition, Doka’s large loading or picking platforms were used to ensure safe and efficient cycling operation. All loads were stripped and easily picked from the loading platforms and then brought up to the deck by crane.
MAINTAINING THE FINISH
The innovative design of 610 Lexington Avenue required the first 10 floors to be constructed with architectural concrete, so a “core ahead” approach was implemented. This approach would allow the formwork to be reused from lift to lift and maintain the required finish. This was done using Doka’s MF 240 climbing formwork with Doka’s Top 50 timber beam formwork. The platforms were anchored into the slab edge and custom spacers accommodated the angle in the walls designed for simple and efficient forming. In addition, special tie cones were used to create a visually pleasing tie pattern where the tie cone and anchor cone had a similar diameter.
Featured Image: Doka’s MF 240 climbing formwork with Doka’s Top 50 timber beam formwork was used, allowing the formwork to be reused from lift to lift and maintain the required finish.
Above: In Midtown Manhattan, New York City, a new residential skyscraper, 610 Lexington Avenue, will rise to 65 stories after completion.
WORKING IN SMALL FOOTPRINT
One of the major challenges on this project was the relatively small footprint, which created a logistical issue. Doka’s pre-assembly service was valuable in advance planning for the small footprint. To work in the limited area, the platforms and the setup face of the belt walls were delivered in pre-assembled units ready to be installed from the truck. Additionally, the geometry of the structure has a constant wave on the East and West side of the tower, making the use of any exterior system difficult. However, the design of the Xclimb 60 system allowed the openings to be covered safely and easily.
INVENTIVE TECHNIQUES
To accommodate the innovative design in a small footprint, several inventive techniques were used. A custom dropdown shoe allowed the platforms to be set below the slab while supported by a shoe which was mounted to the top of slab. Additionally, custom angled spacer shoes allowed the platforms to attach to the shear walls securely and safely.
“It’s working better than I thought,” says Zoltan Big, NYC union carpenter, Navillus Construction. “The belt wall was up and steel was being installed in one day, this would have normally taken days if done by hand.”
2-DAY CYCLE
The use of the Xclimb 60 on 610 Lexington Avenue provided huge benefits for the contractor. Without the Xclimb 60 system, the 2-day cycle would not have been possible. Additionally, the crane was then free to address other areas of the project, while the forming and safety continued to advance.
610 Lexington Avenue is expected to complete concrete work in 2016 and open in 2017. ■
For More Information: For more information about Doka’s hydraulic climbing systems and other products used on this project, visit www.doka.com.
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Modern Contractor Solutions – October 2016
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