Efficient building dismantling

Perspective House, a new residential block with modern space for rental flats and commercial units, is currently under construction in the centre of Rotterdam. To this end, the former Rabobank building at Blaak 333 was demolished down to the ground floor after years of vacancy. Six Böcker mast climbing platforms and a rack and pinion lift supported the efficient removal of materials during the demolition work on the 60-metre-high office tower. Completed at the beginning of 2024, the major project in the heart of the Dutch harbour city was an interesting challenge for the rack and pinion technology of Böcker Maschinenwerke GmbH from Werne and its Dutch subsidiary Böcker Nederland BV, based in LE Velddriel.

Before the start of the project, Böcker drew up a safety and process plan together with the customer M. HEEZEN from Eindhoven, on the basis of which the demolition methodology was determined. In addition to the building structure, the environmental factors, such as the proximity to neighbouring houses, the confined space and the public area with high traffic volumes, played an important role. Under these conditions, the 18 storeys of the financial complex from 1962 had to be demolished for the new building in the shortest possible time.

In the first step, the entire building was gutted. Fast vertical transport was crucial for a high demolition speed. The criteria for selecting the right transport platforms included a high transport speed, high lifting capacity, high cabin height and rapid availability. The Böcker Super-Lift LX 2040 A34, with a load capacity of up to 2,000 kg or twelve persons and a speed of 40 m/min, offered the ideal prerequisites. Thanks to the height-adjustable roof, the platform could be set to the required internal height of exactly three metres. The automatic control system, which had been tried and tested for many years, enabled the lift to be called from a landing without manual control changeover. As an option, a second lift car could be retrofitted on the same mast in twin operation to double the capacity in case of time pressure

The façade was dismantled using mast climbing platforms. An optimum working height, free access to the façade and, last but not least, the dual function of the platforms as a working level and for material transport were the decisive factors in favour of the system. Six Böcker Maxi-Climber MC 650 double mast climbing work platforms with a maximum load capacity of 4,500 kg each were used. The mast climbing platform type selected for this purpose offered sufficient capacity and, with a large anchor spacing of up to 15 metres, little opening effort in advance. The great strength of the Maxi-Climber lies in its variability and enormous adaptability. Individually adjustable platform lengths of up to 15 m for the single-mast version and 35 m for the double-mast version and widths of up to 3.2 m enable a customised configuration even for challenging building structures.

The Böcker mast concept, which is particularly interesting for rental companies, was also utilised during the demolition work in Rotterdam. While other manufacturers require different mast systems depending on the type of platform, Böcker allows both large surface transport platforms with a load capacity of up to 4,000 kg as well as construction hoists and mast climbing platforms to operate on the same mast. This results in significantly reduced logistics costs and lower investment costs thanks to the tried and tested 650 mast system, which is already used by many rental companies. When the office tower was dismantled, the standardised mast concept considerably reduced the need for intermediate storage areas.

More information on Böcker rack and pinion lifts is available here.