Construction World September 2019

PROJECTS & CONTRACTS

I t also bears testament to the skills and capabilities of DBM Architects and Fortem Consulting Engineers, as well as the principal contractor, Mike Buyskes Construction, which executed the technically complex design with meticulous precision. Among the many stand-out features of the building is the spiral ramp in the entrance hall. Starting at the lower parking basement, it provides the about 6 000 congregants with safe and convenient access to all four levels of the building. It is suspended from the roof via a circular reinforced concrete beam-and- slab system that is supported by a central reinforced concrete column. The slab-and-beam system is braced by perimeter columns and beams which also support the building’s glass façade. Suspended from the slab-and-beam system, slender steel hangers with adjustable couplers support the inner steel stringer channels. The latter are connected to the outer steel stringer channels, braced at various points to the columns surrounding the ramp, with I-beams. A reinforced

concrete slab that forms the floor of the ramp is supported between the two stringers and intermediate I-beams for the length of the spiral ramp. More highlights Another engineering highlight is the steel ring that supports the concrete staircase leading from the one side of the triple- volume entrance atrium. It fulfils a critical aesthetic function by eliminating the need for reinforced concrete columns extending from the first to the second landing.

The base of the structure is supported on either side by a reinforced concrete column located beneath the landing of the first flight. It circumvents the first flight’s staircase landing and connects with the base of the second staircase at the apex of the circle. The structure is fixed to the base of the second flight staircase landing and at either side of the landing of the first flight to provide stability. Another highlight of the church is the auditorium’s 14 m cantilevered balcony. An in-situ-cast raking beam, which was pre-

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD SEPTEMBER 2019