JULY 2026 Ӏ JOB OF THE MONTH WESTMINSTER WOLFF IN
A total of nine Wolff tower cranes will be used on a central London development, working around existing 1960s building foundations.
The redevelopment of 1 Victoria Street, in Westminster, London, UK, is underway and features the use of a total of nine Wolff tower cranes from manufacturer Wolffkran. The cranes are working around original 1960s foundations, instead of new piling, to help reduce embodied carbon emissions. This approach, however, is presenting unusual engineering challenges. Initial demolition work for the
scheme was managed by Keltbray, which deployed a Wolff 355 B luffing jib crane (TC0) to handle heavy lifts in the confined urban environment. This crane was responsible for
moving major demolition equipment and materials, including excavators, dumpers, tracked loaders, skips, generators and structural steel. Subsequent construction phases are being led by Mace Construct, which oversaw the installation of four additional
Wolff tower cranes, one Wolff 166 B (TC 1) and three Wolff 355 B models (TC 2,3,4), at the B2 basement level. These cranes support core structural
work, including the slipforming of the concrete core, where the formwork is moved continuously as concrete is poured. This process puts considerable demands on crane timing and availability. Because the project is retaining large
portions of the original foundations the cranes cannot be freely positioned or anchored in conventional, purpose-built concrete bases. Instead, each crane’s location and configuration had to align precisely with the available legacy foundation support points. This required the use of the Wolff
cross-frame system, which allows crane legs to be adjusted individually from six metres to ten metres. It also enables the crane towers to be rotated into the correct alignment.
On the installation of TC2,for
example, all four legs of the cross-frame were set to different lengths to match the irregular foundation positions. In late 2026, the crane configuration
will move to the roof of the building. Two Wolff 355 B (TC 5,6) and two Wolff 630 B (TC 7,8) luffing jib cranes will then take over lifting operations for the upper floors as well as the installation of the façade and building services. Future construction phases will see
further complexity, particularly during dismantling. The basement slab will be cast tightly around the crane bases, limiting working space and headroom. As using conventional mobile cranes will not be possible, ceiling hoists, low- level forklifts and skating systems will be used to remove crane components. Once completed, 1 Victoria Street is
expected to provide new office and retail space while reusing approximately 52% of the original structure. Occupation is anticipated in early 2028.
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