Compact precision: Liebherr MK mobile construction crane solves space constraints in Miami Design District

Bringing a new design to life, the flagship Cartier store in Miami’s Design District went through a full remodel requiring the unloading and placement of multiple handcrafted glass panels to line the modern exterior of the store. Cartier turned to North American Crane & Rigging, LLC. who recently added their fourth Liebherr MK mobile construction crane to their Miami based fleet. The mobile construction crane proved essential in placing the new glass façade. The MK’s adjustable cab as well as its rapid assembly and disassembly made it the perfect solution for the dense, urban environment.

Known for its creative atmosphere, luxury shopping, and dedication to sleek, modern design, the Miami Design District presented North American Crane & Rigging with the ultimate challenge: bringing a reimagined design to life.

Located within Miami’s Design District, the luxury brand Cartier required a full exterior remodel, stripping the façade back to bare bones with a wooden shell to cover the construction site. Requiring a highly skilled vendor to unload and place the massive, handcrafted glass panels along the exterior of the luxury store, Cartier turned to North American Crane & Rigging, LLC to support the heavy lifting of this difficult project.

The turnkey crane and rental company needed to find the ideal machine to set the new floor-to-ceiling glass panels around the exterior of Cartier’s flagship store. Due to the limited space, a traditional mobile crane would be too large to use on the narrow streets of the high traffic Design District. With this in mind, North American Crane & Rigging knew the Liebherr MK 140-5.1E mobile construction crane was the ideal solution for the job site’s tight conditions due to its height and radius when erected. The crane ultimately combines the reach of a tower crane with the agility of a mobile crane, making it the best crane for the job.

Precision in practice

Before the crane could begin placing the panels, a wooden shell was placed around the entirety of the luxury store construction site, leaving a small gap of mere feet for the operator to lift and place each glass panel inside. To allow the crane to gently lift the glass, North American Crane & Rigging used a custom fabricated glass suction device with the Liebherr MK mobile construction crane to unload the panels, rotate them from horizontal to vertical, and then hoist each individual panel 200 ft above the narrow street to carefully place them over the construction shell into the gap.

With zero room for error, the crane operator engaged the MK’s positioning mode known as micromove, enabling millimeter-level accuracy as the panels cleared the shell. Inside the gap, riggers guided the glass into its final position, relying on constant communication and complete trust in the operator.

The team had to work with extreme precision, as each handcrafted panel measured 20 ft high by 10 ft wide. The project also required much of the work to be completed "blind" due to the wooden shell around the exterior of the building. However, the Liebherr crane’s mobile cab capabilities enabled the operator to adjust its height in real time, improving visibility and maneuvering the load based on constant guidance and communication from the team inside the gap.

“The crane was set up in a dense urban environment, which did not allow us to use a standard mobile crane that would need counterweights and space to build jib-sections. Also, there was a privacy wall blocking where the glass would be set and we needed the capability of the MK 140’s adjustable cab to avoid working completely in the blind," said Jake Izzo, director of business development, North American Crane & Rigging.