JASO Cranes Builds Mexico’s New Architectural Icon

20 / 09 / 2020

The Helea Tower has been recognised as ‘The Building of the Year 2020’. An impressive skyscraper that combines cutting-edge design and engineering.

Requirement

Designed by the prestigious Mexican firm Bulnes Architects, the Helea Tower will change the skyline of Puebla, Mexico. This residential building, with an innovative spiralling shape, never seen before, is a unique architectural proposal that has already received several international awards.

It is a residential project of 36,000 m2 of construction distributed over 33 levels that reaches a height of 142.5 m. It has 93 flats, three on each level, arranged radially in a spiral shape, generating a 15° turn per level.

This twist generates a double effect, by providing a 180° panoramic view of the city, and it also causes the flats to be partially suspended in the air.

Like any iconic building with such a spectacular geometry, the Helea Tower represented a significant challenge for Espamex in terms of elevation.

Solution

To carry out the project, the work is being executed in two phases.

During the first phase, the core of vertical circulations were built, this being a massive core based on reinforced concrete. In the second phase, the metallic structure, that will give life to the propellers that make this tower unique, will be reinforced.

Due to the characteristics of the core and its dimensions, it was not possible to install a crane that could erected inside the structure, so a J52NS was chosen with a configuration of sections and bracing that allowed this crane to reach an underhook height of 150m.

With the core completed, a Derrick crane with a capacity of 12t was installed which, together with the J52NS, assisted in the mounting of a J240 on a metal structure, this structure was specially designed to support the loads on the roof of the tower.

Before starting the second phase, with the help of the J240, the Derrick and the J52NS were dismantled.

In the second phase, the metal structure of the propellers are being assembled and once this phase is completed, the Derrick will be reinstalled for the final dismantling of the J240.