Gulf Construction Online - Liebherr helps shape Istanbul skyline

Turkey Review

On the Asian side of Istanbul ... the $1-billion Varyap Meridian project.

Liebherr helps shape Istanbul skyline

01 August 2012

A NUMBER of Liebherr cranes have dominated the skyline at Atasehir, which is being developed as Istanbul’s new business district, as two strikingly different projects have taken shape over the past few years. These include Turkey’s iconic five-tower Vary Meridian project and one of the country’s largest mosques, the Atasehir Anatolian Great Mosque.

Currently seven Liebherr tower cranes are engaged in the $1-billion Varyap Meridian project, one of Turkey’s most spectacular new commercial and residential development on the Asian side of Istanbul.

The Varyap Meridian mixed-use development comprises five towers housing apartments, offices and a five-star hotel and covers just 10 per cent of its 37-hectare land area. The developer is using innovative green systems to conserve energy and minimise the environmental impact of the project which is due for completion later this year.

Varyap Meridian has already won several awards for its design and use of environment-friendly technology. Developer and builder Varyap is the property, construction and contracting arm of Varlibas Group International, which was founded in 1975 and specialises in large-scale upmarket developments.

Varyap appointed Robert Matthew Johnson Marshall (RMJM) as architect, with Buro Happold as structural engineer.
The project involves construction of five buildings – with a total development area of 410,000 sq m – which will rise to different heights of 60, 45, 41, 24, and 24 floors. The 60-storey tower will be Turkey’s second tallest building. The development will include 1,500 apartments and 20,000 sq m of office space while the five-star hotel will cover an area of 50,000 sq m.

At work ... six 154 EC-H 6 FRtronic high-top tower cranes and a 130 EC-B 6 FRtronic flat-top crane.

Set on a highly prominent site that will provide occupants with panoramic views stretching from the Bosphorus Strait in the west to the Princes’ Islands and the Sea of Marmara to the south, the development has easy access to the highway system, the subway, and Istanbul’s new Sabiha Gokcen Airport.

Green design features include rainwater collection sites and facilities to optimise water usage and reduce energy consumption, wind turbine technology, cooling water pools that enhance the external landscape and a co-generation plant that will produce electricity for the development.

For the construction of the project, six new 154 EC-H 6 FRtronic high-top Liebherr tower cranes models were purchased by Varyap from Liebherr’s distributor for Turkey, Atilla Dural Mumessillik Insaat. The seventh unit, a 130 EC-B 6 FRtronic flat-top crane, was supplied by Atilla Dural’s rental division, the largest tower crane hire business in Turkey.

“We decided to standardise on the 154 EC-H 6 because the towers are, in construction terms, very similar and we knew that we could synchronise our working and logistics and achieve the most efficient usage,” says Mehmet Uyar, project manager.

“Despite the size of the project, we are on a tight construction schedule, having started on the structure of the towers only in 2009.

“The 130 EC-B 6 flat-top crane was brought in later than the other cranes and is being used for the convention centre, which is a low-rise element and has a shorter construction schedule,” he says.

Varyap Meridian ... five buildings rising to between 24 and 60 floors.

The 154 EC-H 6 cranes are all standard specification, with 60-m jibs and a maximum lift of six tonnes, and 1.65 tonnes at the end of the jib. Uyar says these cranes are all tied to the side of the towers, and in order to achieve the necessary heights Varyap has rented extra mast sections from Atilla Dural.

The 130 EC-B 6, which has a compact head that includes the hoist gear, slewing gear and central switchgear, also has a 60-m jib and can lift six tonnes maximum, and 1.5 tonnes at full reach.

“This is a free-standing crane and can reach all areas of the building without the need for us to use any other means of mechanical lifting,” says Uyar.

Fahri Dural, director of Atilla Dural, says that in the past few years, Turkey has fully embraced the concept of building tall towers.

“If you look at the tallest towers in Istanbul, the great majority of them have been built with Liebherr,” he says.

“Liebherr now has the reputation for quality high-rise building. We are very proud of Liebherr’s role in the construction of Varyap Meridian, and regard this as an outstanding showcase for us,” he adds.

Atasehir Great Mosque

Meanwhile, a Liebherr 160 EC-B 6 flat-top crane is being used for the entire materials lifting needs on the construction of the Atasehir Anadolu Ulu Cami or Atasehir Anatolian Great Mosque in Istanbul.

Atilla Dural supplied the crane to the project’s main contractor, Guryapi Insaat, on a rental agreement, which initially was for one year but later extended for three more months.

The Atasehir Anatolian Great Mosque, due for completion shortly, has been designed in classic Ottoman style and is located on the summit of the highest hill in the area. It has a land area of 25,000 sq m, with the mosque building covering 3,500 sq m and the courtyard a further 3,500 sq m. The mosque has a capacity to accommodate 12,500 people.

Among the striking features of the mosque is a central dome surrounded by six half-domes and four minarets. The hexagonal structure is 42 m in height at its central dome. In addition to the prayer hall, there are multi-purpose conference rooms, learning centres, and a parking area for 300 cars. It also has a three-level basement, a lift-shaft for four lifts, and utility structures including mechanical and electrical rooms and storage areas.

Atasehir Anatolian Great Mosque ... Liebherr 160 EC-B 6 flat-top crane used for materials lifting.

The mosque takes its design inspiration from the works of Mimar Sinan (1489-1588), the chief architect of the Ottoman Empire during the reigns of sultans Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim The Second and Murad The Second. His most famous work is the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul.

Although being built with modern technology, using a reinforced concrete frame and shell, the mosque is also using traditional arts and crafts to ensure that in appearance it reflects its architectural heritage.

Contractor Guryapi Insaat Insaat, in addition to being a long-established builder of new developments, also has a track record of restoring ancient mosques and other historic structures.

Project manager Bilgin Koseoglu says the Liebherr crane was selected for the dependable precision it could offer on this prestigious project.

Commenting on the project’s location, he says: “Atasehir is very much one of the faces of modern Turkey and is a showcase development with its apartments, office towers and its hotels.”

In addition to its high-rise up-market residential apartments, Atasehir with its close proximity to the motorway system, is a growing business district and emerging centre for conferences and events.

“The Great Mosque will be one of Istanbul’s landmarks, not only for the local residents and workers, but also for the visitors coming to Atasehir,” he adds.

Koseoglu says the 160 EC-B 6 flat-top crane was chosen for its high lift capacity combined with its free-standing height. “The crane stands in the basement of the mosque and as the mosque wall has grown we have secured the crane to it with a single tie,” he says.

“The jib length is 60 m, and the under-hook height 75 m. We can reach all parts of the building with this configuration, lifting two tonnes at maximum radius.”