ELIZABETH HOUSE. LEICESTER, ENGLAND

This residential building is 16 storeys high consisting, on elevation, of cast-in-place concrete end walls and of storey-height precast concrete panels on the long side walls.

The building consists of the external walls and a series of 175mm internal walls; the external walls have an overall thickness of 240mm but contain 40mm deep grooves. There is a 125 x 500 mm precast concrete edge beam on the east and west sides connecting the walls together at their ends and helping to support the floor slab. In general the floors are 150mm thick, comprising a 75mm precast concrete plate with a smooth soffit and 75mm cast-in-place concrete topping that connects the floor to the walls and edge beams. The corridor slab is cast-in-place and 100 mm thick, 150 mm thick opposite the lifts, and is supported by beams on each side of the corridor. At ground floor level, the cladding consists of vertical precast concrete strips alternating with windows, but at all levels above this, the precast concrete panels are shaped and contain a window opening in the centre. All loadbearing walls are founded on heavy ground beams, typically 1200 x 900mm in section, which in turn are supported by 750mm large diameter bored piles; the ground floor slab is supported by these and other ground beams resting on the piles.

At each typical floor level, there are a total of 15 different types of shaped cladding panels out of a total of 18 panels at each level. The differences exist mainly in slight variations in overall width which, in some cases, are taken up by the gap between the forward vertical edges of adjacent panels; this gap varies between 70 and 175 mm. The vertical joint itself is set back near the edge of the floor slab and has a constant width of 20mm. In those cases where the main part of each panel is identical, the panels can be made using the same mould. At roof level, the depth of the panel splay is reduced compared to that at typical floor levels.

Horizontal forces are taken by the cross walls in the east-west direction and by the end walls, the staircase wall and lift shaft walls going in the north-south direction; all these walls sit on the ground beams and piles.

The total period of construction amounted to 24 months.

Notes:

bored pile буронабивная свая

groove n. паз, канавка

splay n. скошенная кромка

Ответьте на вопросы к тексту

1. How many storeys are there in the residential building?

2. What are the features of the external walls?

3. What connects the floor to the walls and edge beams?

4. What makes the 15 types of shaped cladding panels different?

5. What are horizontal forces taken by?

6. How long was the total period of construction?