Cover Picture: Steel Construction 3/2020

The 277 m high Baku Tower in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is the tallest building in the Caucasus ever built. The tower is constantly subjected to enormous wind loads, that gave the city's name it's meaning “city of wind”. To cope with these wind loads a 400 t pendulum damper was installed on the tower's uppermost platform. Its special feature: in case of strong wind and earthquake, the 400 t mass block moves horizontally by up to 1.3 m in all directions in a controlled manner. This pendulum damper reduces the strain on the structure, thus it ensures the building's living and working comfort. The mass block consists of a massive steel box that was filled with concrete on site. MAURER not only manufactured the steel construction but also supervised the entire assembly and put the vibration damper into operation. (© Maurer SE)