7 WOLFF cranes working at ODE project in Amsterdam

ODE is a new office and residential building currently under construction in the heart of Amsterdam on an area of 75,000 sq m. Seven WOLFF tower cranes are at the site to support the successful completion of the project. Upon its planned completion in April 2022, ODE will accommodate the European headquarters and global training center of booking.com, 42 condominiums, space for restaurants and shops, and a double-level underground car park. The building, with its striking, tree-like interior steel construction, is being built by the Strabag subsidiary Ed. Züblin AG, for which WOLFFKRAN has developed a tailor-made crane concept.

The location of the construction site, surrounded by water, existing buildings, and the tracks of the central railway station, required a sophisticated assembly concept since there was only one place where the 500 tonne mobile could be positioned. It was used to erect the first WOLFF 700 B luffing jib crane at a distance of 28 m, which then installed the second WOLFF 700 B. This, in turn, assembled the three WOLFF 355 B luffing jib cranes on site. A WOLFF 7032.12 clear and a 5014 city were erected as support cranes at the beginning of this year. The particular foundation structure of the building also required customised foundation anchors for the WOLFF cranes. “The construction site’s location requires a high degree of coordination in the daily workflow and the entire logistics. The crane concept plays a decisive role here,” says Tobias Wallner, Senior Project Construction Manager at Züblin.

Due to the prevalent strong winds on Oosterdokseiland, the WOLFF 700 B cranes were installed on 3.30 m towers and the 355 B cranes on 2.90 m towers, allowing them to work freestanding in stormy weather conditions. Thanks to their small minimum jib radius and working range limitation, the luffing jib cranes can operate safely on the cramped construction site without getting in each other’s way, despite moderate tower heights between 47.2 m and 54.2 m. “Lower tower heights mean lower costs. Paired with the high lifting capacities of the WOLFF luffers, we were able to offer the customer a particularly cost-effective solution,” explains Carsten Druske, Head of Rental Germany and Branch Manager, WOLFFKRAN Dortmund.