The hotel and the other structures in the Crescent Bay development will characterise Azerbaijan's architectural landscape. The Crescent Bay urban development project has been ongoing since late 2009; its 450,000 m² footprint covers an entire man-made island in the Caspian Sea. The crescent-shaped hotel structure gives the project its name. Along with the La Luna luxury hotel build with 125,000 m², the construction project also includes the Crescent City office complex and the Crescent Place build (with residences, a shopping and leisure-time centre), both already finished. These two buildings were constructed in the period 2013 to 2016 with Doka formwork solutions.
When finished by its planned completion date in late 2017, La Luna – the super-luxury hotel with 230 rooms, 74 apartments and 16 villas – will be the premium address for a stay in Azerbaijan's capital city Baku. The concept as a whole was drafted by South Korean architects Heerim Architects & Planners, project owner is Azerbaijan-based Gilan Holding.
Faster progress on the build despite extreme weather conditions
The challenging weather conditions and the architectural concept with the unique crescent-moon shape call for safe and individual formwork solutions. These are the reasons why construction company İlk İnşaat MMC has long relied on the products and engineering services of the Doka Group.
"We appreciate Doka as a long-standing partner. Particularly on account of the special know-how that Doka contributes to every project and also because of the cost benefit that derives from safer and faster construction with Doka products", states Mert Ersoy, Project Manager with İlk İnşaat MMC.
With wind-speeds of more than 80 km/h in this region, it is difficult to use cranes for working high above ground level. All the more so on the La Luna build. This is why the construction managers opted for SKE50 plus and SKE100 plus automatic climbing formwork from Doka, systems designed to ensure smooth progress on the build even when outdoor conditions are extreme.
The Doka engineers on the project recommended the use of automatic climbing formwork in order to optimise progress on the build, and this had a very positive effect on construction. The outcome was that the build rate was increased from the planned three to five storeys per month. In combination with the SKE50 plus and SKE100 plus automatic climbers, the formwork of the building cores of the hotel structure have all-hydraulic assistance. The automatic climbers climb the large working platforms from one storey to the next. That reduces costly crane time and saves on manpower and calculable fixed costs. The automatic climbing systems also meet the strict safety requirements.
In short:
Project: La Luna Hotel (Crescent Bay)
Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
Project owner: Gilan Holding
Construction work by: İlk İnşaat MMC
Construction start: December 2014
Scheduled completion: Late 2017
Building height: 123 m (28 storeys)
Cycle time: 5 storeys per month
Formwork technology:
Automatic climbing formwork SKE50 plus and SKE100 plus