C&L, Cranes & Lifting, International, Projects

Liebherr’s work of art

Liebherr's LTM 1230-5.1 has helped to install the Global Gate artwork installation in Hamburg, Germany.

German crane hire company, Knaack Krane, has utilised its Liebherr LTM 1230-5.1 to install the ‘Global Gate’, the world’s largest mobile work of art.

The artwork covers an area of 2000sqm and consists of 37 sea containers with four ‘Ottifants’ – cartoon elephants in the comic style of Otto Waalkes – and is currently on display Hamburg, Germany. The sea containers are arranged in the shape of Berlin’s distinctive Brandenburg Gate and are accessible to all artists in the area to publicly showcase its work.

The 37 sea containers lifted by Knaack’s LTM 1230-5.1 weighed 3.9 tonnes each initially, before they were filled with sand and ballasted to a weight of 15 tonnes to ensure structural integrity. Overall, the entire construction ­– including installation of the works – took four days. Among the main challenges were the proximity of the operation to Hamburg’s port terminal, Cruise Centre Altona, meaning the water’s edge was close by providing uneven ground and strong winds.

Liebherr's LTM 1230-5.1 has helped to install the Global Gate artwork installation in Hamburg, Germany.
Crowned with four Ottifants: The Global Gate is the world’s largest mobile work of art.

Needing precise methodology and technology to factor in these challenging conditions, the team at Knaack equipped the 230-tonne capacity crane with 22 tonnes of counterweight out of its maximum of 77 tonnes and extended the boom out to 48m, slightly over half of its 75m telescopic main boom that can utilise lattice jib extensions to reach a maximum hook height of 111m. Powered by a HVO-compatible diesel engine, the five-axle machine comes with Liebherr’s defining, patented features of VarioBase, VarioBallast, and the LICCON system. For Uwe Schulze, crane operator at Knaack Krane, the crane represents the “perfect addition” to Knaack’s fleet, which it only acquired four weeks prior to the Golden Gate installation.

Liebherr's LTM 1230-5.1 has helped to install the Global Gate artwork installation in Hamburg, Germany.
After the lift: Crane driver Uwe Schulz from Knaack-Krane next to the LTM 1230-5.1 in Hamburg.

“The LTM 1230-5.1 is the perfect addition to our fleet of Liebherr cranes,” he said. “The mobile crane with its long boom can be used for construction crane assembly in particular.

Curated by Marcus Schäfer to exhibit works “beyond the traditional boundaries of galleries and museums”, the installation – which has already visited Dubai and Frankfurt – will shut down in mid-November.

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