Loisto, a tower building in Kalasatama, is currently being constructed and will be ready in late 2021. The building is not only exceptionally high but also locates by the Baltic sea, where the weather is often windy and unpredictable. Constructing a 100-meter-tall building requires special equipment and skills. One of the specialties at the construction site is the luffing jib tower cranes.

The construction work of Loisto kicked off already in 2019. In Finland, the height of this 124-meter high building itself is quite exceptional. As the building locates by the sea, forecasting the winds is very important in order to make sure that the lifting work is safe. Reliable forecasts of the winds at such heights by the sea are hard to find and make, which makes the construction work challenging for the crane operators.

The lifting work at this worksite is performed with two luffing jib tower cranes that have not been used in Finland for many decades. These rare cranes are more complicated to steer than regular tower cranes since the load can only be moved around by moving the beam up and down.

Luffing jib tower cranes were chosen to be used at Kalasatama worksite to fasten the logistics and facade work. Luffing jib cranes are suitable especially because they can locate close to each other and move smoothly even in tight spaces. Two luffing jib cranes are currently in use at the construction site: one locates next to the Loisto building and the other one is inside it. This way both cranes can be in use simultaneously.

Loisto worksite is very diverse and extraordinary for the crane operators. The lifting work requires accuracy and the ability to observe and predict volatile wind conditions.

Crane operators from Trenox have been active in predicting the weather and winds, which shows that they are true professionals. Cooperation with them has been effortless.

We also value their language skills: communication at the construction site can happen either in Finnish, Russian or Estonian.

Miiro Lehto, construction foreman, SRV