The Manntech brand has earned a trusted reputation based on our ability to deliver innovative, precision engineered access systems which meet the specific needs of a wide range of important buildings the world over. In many notable cases, the coverage and functionality required of the complete building access solution goes beyond providing cleaning and maintenance access for uniform exterior facade surfaces.The world’s most visionary architects are, for instance, artfully combining traditional and modern materials in their designs and creating buildings which blur the expected boundaries between indoor and outdoor space.

The Edge, Amsterdam: The bold concept behind this project called for a custom building access solution with the versatility to provide practical access coverage across two key areas: the complex exterior facade with its series of sloping roofs and the enclosed atrium space which rises up from within the interior to gradually merge into the roof lines. The comprehensive building access solutions Manntech developed provide full coverage across all interior and exterior facade surfaces. A specialist BMU running on a friction system provides access to the main exterior, while the complex range of interior surfaces created by the atrium are efficiently serviced by three additional BMUs, an aerial work platform and a further custom BMU designed for the specific purpose of accessing and mounting works of art.

Dr Chau Chak Wing Building, Sydney: This visionary design by Frank Gehry articulates the rich history and the exciting future of the city through its use of materials, combining facades of intricately curving, hand-laid bricks with a curtain wall made up of reflective glass shards. The building access challenges demanded a system which would provide for practical maintenance access to the varying facade surfaces, in particular the complex curves of the brick sections, while blending seamlessly with the architect’s visual concept. Manntech achieved this to the client’s satisfaction with a monorail system incorporated into the soffits of the facade to achieve a discreet appearance. This was combined with a custom designed davit and rope access solution to deliver safe and visually unobtrusive building access to every surface of the intricate forms.

These complex building access challenges are among numerous examples in Manntech’s project portfolio which require custom building access solutions to provide effective maintenance for diverse facade materials, unusual uses of space and unique building geography.