HOTEL DE LAC, TUNIS

The hotel with 416 rooms has ten upper storeys which cantilever progressively outwards like wings. The bedrooms are situated on the south longitudinal side, being reached by way of a corridor at the rear. The main stairs, lifts and services are in a concrete core projecting rear­wards in the middle of the building. A low podium block contains the entrance hall and offices.

The overall dimensions of the hotel on plan are as follows: 44.40 x 12.50 m on the first floor, increasing to 82.80 x 12.50 m on the tenth floor.

The structural steel frame consists of pin-jointed members including main columns in the two longitudinal facades and one internal row of columns, interconnected by floor beams in the transverse direction. In the longitudinal direction there are continuous reinforced concrete ribbed floors which are prestressed between anchor­ages installed at the ends of the building. The forces from the cantilevered ends of each storey are transmitted through an inclined strut and the prestressed floors. Under symmetrical loading the horizontal forces balance each other in each floor. Horizontal forces due to symmetrical floor loading and to longitudinal wind are transmitted through diagonal bracings installed in the vertical plane between the internal columns at the centre of the building. This bracing system terminates in two V-shaped struts on the ground floor. Wind forces acting in the trans­verse direction are transmitted through the floor slabs to diagonal bracings located at four transverse axes and at the two ends of the building.

The columns in the longitudinal facades extend down to the foundations, whereas the internal columns and the inclined struts at the cantilever ends terminate in the mezzanine, in which storey-height plate girders and lattice girders span transversely between the external col­umns. These transverse girders are interconnect­ed by a longitudinal plate girder located under the internal columns. This longitudinal girder is additionally supported on V-struts on each side of the entrance hall which absorb the horizontal thrust exerted by the two inclined struts. Over the entrance two external columns terminate on, and are structurally intercepted by, a plate girder.

Notes:

by way of посредством

progressively adv. один над другим

V-shaped adj. V-образный

Ответьте на вопросы к тексту

1. What is the characteristic feature of this hotel design?

2. How is vertical circulation within the building provided?

3. How do the overall dimensions of the hotel on plan change from the first to the tenth floor?

4. What does the structural steel frame consist of?

5. How are the forces from the cantilevered ends of each storey transmitted?

6. How are wind forces transmitted?

7. What is the longitudinal girder supported on?