In 2010–2011, a series of devastating earthquakes occurred in Christchurch (New Zealand) damaged many buildings and killed people. The Earthquake Commission’s (EQC) research for New Zealand showed that such disasters could recur in Christchurch over time, and now the seismic safety of the new buildings has become the city’s authorities great concern.
Pagodas have always been, and remain an intrinsic part of the Land of the Rising Sun. They were the first high-rise edifices in Japan. Pagoda design features, the harmony of its artistic image, and versatile symbolism certainly stand out from the general range of traditional buildings of Japan and are a recognized as a symbol of beauty and harmony in architecture.
The article deals with the main technological challenges faced by engineers and builders in the construction process of the box foundation of Lakhta Center tower building, as well as their solutions and actual implementation.
The article focuses on the key techniques used in the construction of Lakhta Center tower cast in-situ reinforced concrete floor slabs.
At the end of 2018, Lakhta Center Multifunctional Complex JSC (since August 2019 - Gazprom Neft the East European Projects JSC) was granted a commissioning permit. This complex is considered unique according to the height criterion specified in the Town Planning Code of the Russian Federation. The Tower building has a design height of 462 meters. The distinctive features of the complex, configuration of building exteriors, materials and structures used, fire safety requirements imply the need for exclusive technological solutions for some stages. This article describes the unique installation technology successfully used to install the spire structures of the Tower building during its construction. High-strength friction bolted joints were mainly used for installation of steelwork elements in order to minimize welding works.
Curtain wall is the prevailing type of enclosure on modern buildings because of its economy, its independence from structure that allows flexibility in design, its thinness that allows maximum usable floor space and its speed of erection — in short, its expedience. But ever since the appearance of the steel and concrete frame and the curtain wall in the late 19th century, architects have continued to consistently, insistently, render structure, or apparent structure, on the non-load-bearing surfaces of some of the most influential works of modern architecture.
The Swiss population has decided to become more energy independent and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. A large part of the implementation of these goals falls on buildings. At least 40-60% of the total resource consumption depends on the real estate sector. This tells us architects and developers that we should look into it! But today, discussions about the future are primarily about technology - hardly about design, form and material.
In October 2018 the high-rise mixed-use complex Lakhta Center, which is under construction in St. Petersburg was permitted for commissioning, and its opening is planned in about a year. Interior decoration works, arrangement of business and public areas and amenities are still ongoing, but the world has already seen the finished appearance of the new city landmark forming the sea facade and panoramas of St. Petersburg of the 21st century. The silhouette of the 462-meter tower, as a main focus and compositional center of the complex, symbolizes the energy of the flame, which is the logo of Gazprom, the largest energy company with its headquarters soon to be located in the skyscraper on the shore of the Gulf of Finland.
At the base of the Lakhta Center Tower - a supertall building for a weight of more than 670 thousand tonsin, which is undelain by a concrete pile box foundation - a unique structure that ensures the reliability and stability of the building. The deep-grid pile foundation of the tower consists of three plates: the subbase footing with a thickness of 3,600 mm and a volume of 19,624 m3 was casted non-stop for 49 hours from the mark of the bottom of the foundation pit on March 1, 2015. The main suppliers of concrete for pouring slabs were two companies – LujaBetomix and Beaton.
Josef Gartner, LLC is the Russian representative office of Josef Gartner GmbH (Germany), which is a developer and manufacturer of technically complex facades and a leader in the market of facade systems in Europe, UK and US, founded more than 150 years ago in Bavaria. The company specializes in creatively diverse design solutions for aluminum and steel enclosing structures. Each facade, designed by the company specialists, is unique.
