Construction Fixings

Around 110,000 fischer FZP II anchors have been used to secure the limestone panels of the 99 Hudson Street skyscraper towers in Jersey City, NJ, USA.

The fischer FZP II was chosen in the 13 x 30 M8/SO/13 AL variant. These anchors provide a form fit fastening without expansion pressure and are concealed when viewed from the building’s exterior.

Towering at 274m, 99 Hudson Street is a 79 storey skyscraper containing 781 residential units on an area of 137,000m2. Its location on the western side of the Hudson River provides a panoramic view of Manhattan, including the Statue of Liberty, the One World Trade Center and George Washington Bridge.

In addition to its high optical requirements, the 25,000m2 façade presented additional challenges to those involved in the structure’s planning and implementation. “Extreme wind loads affect the skyscraper, which is among the tallest residential buildings in the USA. Then there were the large sized and heavy natural stone panels,” says Constantin Wiegert, head of façade and fire protection systems at the fischer Group of Companies.

“Our undercut technology fastenings were perfectly suited for these challenges. A custom fastening solution developed especially for this project allowed the façade panels to be securely installed. The whole process went particularly smoothly, from the idea and planning stage through to the static calculations and implementation. This was thanks to the close cooperation with the natural stone supplier and the façade builder, as well as our trade partner in the USA.”

Unlike edge fastenings, undercut technology is suitable for an element façade and for prefabrication. The façade elements were equipped with undercut drill holes in the Bavarian factories of the natural stone supplier JMS Jura Marble Suppliers. “We produced over 20,000m² of Jura limestone panels in a short amount of time, each having between four and eight anchor holes, as well as various other labour items,” reports Magdalena Schönwetter, vice managing director for JMS. “fischer assisted us with its technical support throughout every project phase, both in Germany as well as at the project site in the USA.”

The entire façade modules were subsequently joined together along with the anchors and natural stone before being delivered to the building site in Jersey City. The result is a skyscraper with long-term secure fastenings.