Landscaping and street furniture had closed off the access a mobile crane once had
Spider Plus has replaced a 1.79-tonne glass panel on the main entrance façade of Zayed University in Abu Dhabi using a UNIC URW-706 spider crane, after later site development left no room for the mobile cranes used during construction.
Access that disappeared over time
The panel measured 6.3m by 2.5m and weighed 1.79 tonnes — a substantial unit by curtain walling standards, and one that had to be removed and replaced on a striking full-glass façade where any misalignment would be obvious.
What made the job difficult was not the building but everything that had grown up around it. When the original glazing was installed during construction, mobile cranes had open ground to work from. In the years since, shaded parking, landscaping, street furniture and safety installations including fire hydrants have filled that space. By the time the damaged panel needed replacing, there was no longer a standing position for a large crane anywhere near the entrance.
Close to the façade, clear of the landscaping
Spider Plus specified the UNIC URW-706, which offers up to 6 tonnes of capacity and a reach of 19.5m from a machine compact enough to track through the surrounding features and set up close to the façade. Working from that position meant the crane could reach the panel location directly without removing landscaping or closing the entrance area.
The lift itself was carried out with a 2-tonne capacity glass lifter on the hook, giving the team controlled handling of the unit through both the removal of the damaged panel and the installation of its replacement.
A recurring problem for façade maintenance
The full-glass entrance façade meant there was no tolerance for a poorly presented panel: the replacement had to sit flush with units installed years earlier, which is why the vacuum lifter rather than slings was used for both the removal and the installation.
The project illustrates a problem that façade maintenance contractors meet regularly: buildings are glazed during construction with the whole site available, then have to be re-glazed decades later through a completed landscape. Compact crawler cranes have become the standard answer, precisely because they can be walked into positions that were never designed for lifting equipment.
Spider Plus is UNIC’s dealer in the UAE and has built a portfolio of glazing and replacement work across the region. UNIC Cranes Europe said the project showed both the capability of the spider crane range and the technical planning its dealer network brings to jobs of this kind.
Source: Unic — Photos: Unic
Crane facts
- Crane: UNIC URW-706
- Max capacity: 6 tonnes
- Reach: 19.5m
- Attachment: 2-tonne capacity glass lifter
- Panel: 6.3m x 2.5m, 1.79 tonnes
- Site: Zayed University main entrance, Abu Dhabi
- Contractor: Spider Plus