The Allen Centre Complex in Houston, Texas is currently undergoing the second phase of an extensive redevelopment. The Three Allen Centre tower has been a vital part of the complex since its completion in 1980 and required a new building maintenance system to replace the aging BMU which had been out of service for some time. The client specified that any replacement building maintenance units must match the historic performance of the old system in order to ensure the continued success and longevity of this cornerstone building for many years into the future. The project was further complicated by the necessity of designing, manufacturing and installing a high quality building maintenance system on an established building with long-standing residents in occupation. Not least among the issues this presented were the logistics and technical challenges involved in lifting and installing any new building maintenance units onto the roof of the 50 storey, 208 metre high octagonal tower.

Manntech undertook a site visit to collect vital data on the specifics of the task at hand. This included the limited space available for a replacement Building Maintenance Unit and all other relevant dimensions and measurements. This allowed our expert engineering team to develop and manufacture a replacement BMU which matched the capacity, dead weight and functionality of the old system while also operating in the limited space available. The twin arm Building Maintenance Unit was specially designed in order to allow each separate component to be transported to roof level through the building. This involved working within the challenging parameters presented by the weight capacities of freight elevators and roof hatch sizes in addition to carefully considered placement of lifting points on the BMU components themselves.

Manntech’s experienced team have repeatedly been called upon to develop replacement building maintenance units such as this for existing buildings where the original building maintenance system is no longer fit for purpose, placing the building at risk through lack of appropriate cleaning and maintenance. Through the strength and depth of our product range and our proven ability to adapt bespoke, tailored solutions to any facade access challenge, Manntech have once again overcome a variety of technical challenges to deliver reliable, high quality facade access solutions to every elevation of this octagonal tower design.