INTER AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Project Name: Inter-American Development Bank New Country Office

Type of Project: Commercial Building (Structural)

Director in Charge: Anthony Farrell

Design Engineer: J. Rawlins

Design Team: Gillespie & Steel Limited (Architects)

                       C.E.P Limited (Structural Engineers)

                       Enco. (Electrical and Mechanical Engineers)

Year of Commencement: 1995

Year of Completion: 1996

Building Description:

The Inter-American Development Bank of Trinidad and Tobago is located at Alexandra Street, St. Clair, Port of Spain. The building is two stories high from ground level with one underground level. The building is supported on a combination of pad and strip footings. There is a 125mm thick reinforced concrete (r.c) slab on grade at basement level. Column capitals support 250mm thick r.c flat slabs at ground level. A 200mm thick r.c slab on grade forms a 400mm deep pond which surrounds the exterior of the building at ground level. The first and lower roof floors are comprised of insitu r.c (125mm thick) slabs. These slabs are supported by insitu r.c columns and beams. There are r.c square columns located around the exterior perimeter of the main building. These columns are supported on pad footings and provide additional support for the slabs at the first floor.

At roof level, there are 100 mm thick pre-stressed hollow core slabs which are supported by two inverted mild steel C channels. These channels are supported by insitu r.c beam at the apex of the roof, and by steel pipe columns (141mm diameter) at its lowest end. These steel pipe columns are vertically supported by the exterior square columns, and horizontally braced on opposite sides at the top by steel pipes. The building has an approximate gross floor area of 720 square meters of parking, and 850 square meters of office space.