Structural Engineering

An 18 000 m2 - 2 level shopping centre, including parking for 1100 vehicles and 6 loading bays. The centre comprises of the major tenant with 4 sub major & 101 line shops, 48 late night shops and a service station. The face brick building structure constructed, is a complex reinforced concrete structure with generous cantilevered walkways, 27m high gable ends, ventilation chambers, mezzanine slab supported off suspended 1st floor, air-conditioned service chambers, covered with a complex structural steel/structural timber roof. A fast track building structure supported on a combination of conventional and piled foundations.

14000m2 spinning mill founded on an existing riverbed. A reinforced concrete structure of post-tensioned slabs and structural steel roof on piled foundations. These slab designs were to allow for spinning and twisting machines on suspended floor, of lengths in access of 55.0m x 40.0m without any expansion joint. Slabs were designed to support live loads 3.6 - 4.0 tonnes/m2 in certain areas. Deflections across the length of the building were vital to control especially in 55.0m long direction. The structural steel roof, spans in excess of 47.0m clear span to produce a working area of 6000m2 "free of column support".

A two storey construction with quadruple garage, 4 bedrooms with large living quarters, encompassing a large indoor atrium and a large entertainment /pool area. The R.C structure was exploited to enhance the essential plasticity of concrete, moulding the material in a sculptural manner to interweave the house and garden. Each form flows from one shape to the next with remarkable smoothness.

 

A 2-storey R.C structure of 15m - 18m clear span in the auditorium and a 37m span of structural steel roof over temple. Concrete domes approximately 33m high support “petal arrangement” centre structure surrounded by a font. The ground floor design is completely "independent" in design to the first floor whereby due to the religious connotation the first floor had to be orientated 11.4° due East. All structural columns from the ground to the first floor are independently designed to columns from the first to the roof. Thus the first floor slab was designed as a combination of post tensioning and normal reinforced concrete to support the loadings thereon.

A 6000 seater Church with R.C gallery under an aluminium dome, 60m clear roof span with a 10 m circular roof light. The dome roof (approximately 18,0 high) was designed to sit on a reinforced concrete frame structure.

A joint venture project where 22 buildings from kitchens to cell blocks were designed to suit a fast track schedule. Various designs from post tension slab, reinforced concrete slab and structural steel roofs where used to satisfy the clients’ requirements but most importantly keeping within the budget constraints.