Manntech delivers Hong Kong’s largest building maintenance unit for Airside development

The Airside development located in the former Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong represents extensive infrastructural development within the new Central Business District 2.0. Opening in 2022, the building is situated above a brand-new metro station. The 47-storey mixed-use commercial building features Grade-A office spaces and a unique retail precinct encompassing an interconnected underground shopping street. Tenants and guests will benefit from abundant public and green spaces, including a rooftop garden designed for urban farming.

To protect the building, Manntech was chosen to provide an advanced engineered facade access system encompassing three Type 6 Building Maintenance Units consisting of two 4-stage telescopic jibs system and one parallelogram system to achieve an outreach of 38 metres. As the future largest BMU in Hong Kong, the 93-tonne stationary crane type BMU features a 300kg cradle weight with1,000kg glass replacement unit loading capacity and is anchored onto the roof.

The Airside building’s facade features both positive and negative slopes designed to provide large urban spaces, thus requiring a sophisticated access solution. The Type 6.4 BMU was chosen for its ability to suit high complexity buildings.

After visiting the Manntech production facility and learning about the manufacturing processes used to create superior products, Manntech was deemed the ideal provider by the client. Having witnessed the expert technicians, the Airside team developed an understanding of Manntech’s 60 years of experience in designing end to end building access solutions for the world’s most complex architectural structures.

What’s more, Manntech’s commitment to sustainability is aligned with the principles Airside is built on. With the United Nationals Sustainable Development Goals at the centre of the development, the building was the recipient of the under-construction, Grand Award in the Hong Kong Green Building Awards in 2019, thanks to extensive architectural planning to exceed standards in sustainability. Manntech also operates under a framework that encompasses strategic goals set out in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, with sustainable relationships, solutions and operations as the three critical pillars of the business.