Historic chimney saved in Baku
In the news
Cintec International is ensuring that a historic industrial chimney will be at the heart of The Twin Towers Port of Baku scheme.
A demolition-threatened, historic chimney in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku now will be the center point of a multi-million dollar shopping complex. Cintec International has been commissioned to carry out complex structural preservation work on the chimney later this year.Built in the 1900s the chimney is the focal point of a regeneration project to establish Baku as an up-and-coming center of commerce and technology.Original designs for the development, which will be called The Twin Towers of Port Baku, planned to have the chimney pulled down to make way for the modern shopping complex. However, when the president of Azerbaijan saw the plans, he requested that the historical chimney be restored instead and become a central feature of the development.
The result is a design that is representative of the futuristic vision for Azerbaijan, while retaining important elements of its industrial history.
Cintec will be using its patented anchor to secure the chimney by drilling into the structure from the top and feeding 24 meters of anchors in to the walls of the chimney to secure it for generations to come. The chimney is one of the most delicate structures that Cintec has ever worked with. It has required the company to design thinner connecting anchors, especially for the project.
The circular structure of the building also means that Cintec will have to use laser keyhole technology to achieve the precision necessary to successfully position the anchors. The work is expected to take 12 weeks to complete.
“This is another exciting contract for us at Cintec, and we’re delighted to be involved in helping to maintain this historic chimney as part of Baku’s redevelopment,” says Peter James, managing director. “We’re passionate about maintaining and restoring historical buildings for future generations, so we were very pleased to hear that the chimney was going to be saved and honored to be asked to carry out the work.”
The chimney is just one of Cintec’s ongoing structural preservation projects. The company has worked in Egypt restoring its historical buildings for 18 years and has undertaken restoration work on mosques, temples and both the Red and Step Pyramids. Cintec anchors also have been used to restore other historically significant buildings across the globe, including Windsor Castle, the parliament building in Canada and even the White House.
About the Author
CINTEC America is a structural masonry retrofit strengthening, repair and preservation company. For more information, email solutions@cintec.com, or visit www.cintec.com.
