Tower Plaza
March 2003
PECS was responsible for the structural and foundation projects and hydraulic installations for the office building located in Vila Nova de Gaia.
In addition to the development of the projects, he was also responsible for monitoring the respective administrative licenses.
The building consists of 16 elevated floors, 1 technical floor and 4 underground floors (floors -4, -3, -2 and -1). The buried floors are intended for parking and storage, the rest for offices and commerce (floor 0). It has an implantation area of about 2500 m2.
Description
For the buried floors, a structural solution of light-weight reinforced concrete slab, with thicknesses of 0.325 m (0.225 m + 0.10 m) and 0.425 m (0.325 m + 0.10 m) supported on pillars was adopted.
On the -3, -2 and -1 floor, the use of a flattened fungiform slab with a thickness of 0.325 m was used. On floor 0, the simultaneous use of a light-weight fungiform slab with thickness of 0.325 m was used in the trade area and 0.425 m in the outer area covered with earth.
For the raised floors, a structural solution of 0.2 m solid fungiform slab with 0.35 m thick capitals was adopted, supported on beams or directly on pillars. The capitals have dimensions in plan, in general, of 2.5 mx 3.0 m.
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The overall structure of the building is made up of a mesh of pillars, the resistant cores of the elevators, resistant walls and peripheral beams. The resistance to horizontal actions is guaranteed mainly by the rigid cores and resistant walls. Of note is the fact that the columns are mixed with a rectangular section of concrete involving HEB 400, 500 or 600 profiles. This solution allowed the sections of the columns to have less area, consequently increasing the floor area. This would not be possible using a standard solution in reinforced concrete.
The exterior structure on the south facade of the building is metallic with tubular profiles and articulated connections. The connection to the building is carried out at the floor level.
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