The Project

A building complex in central Athens, gradually built in the 1960s, which houses Greece’s Telecommunications’ Organization center.

It consists of 15 statically independent buildings, made of reinforced concrete, each featuring a basement, ground floor and 2, 5 or even 12 overlaying floors.


The buildings total a surface of 53,000 m2.


The Telecommunications’ Organization needs to change use in several building spaces and redesign the buildings’ interiors as well as their external views.


To this end, architectural upgrading, static and earthquake-resistance strengthening and new E / M installations are required.

In addition, the technology centers inside the buildings need to remain in operation during the interventions works and stay protected against vibration, dust, dirt, water, sparks, fire and any kind of detrimental factors.


The strengthening design provides for the turning of the columns – at their full height – into “strong columns”, through steel-sheet jacketing and high-strength concrete” infill”.


Most of the new composite columns that are created, have an octagonal cross-section to confine the existing and new concrete they encase.


The steel-sheet jacketing and the confinement it provides, increases the strength and plasticity-deformability of the concrete and makes it virtually “unbreakable” under seismic stresses.


Along their height, the composite columns are connected to the floor beams, which are also strengthened with steel-sheet jackets, where required.


In some cases, where there were not enough suitable positions to implement the above described technology, the columns are connected by steel sheet profiles, erected as a composite construction of steel sheet and concrete.


New composite walls are also constructed with steel-sheet “jackets” all around the existing structural elements and fully attached to them.


Each “jacket” is connected with its wall, through additional transverse steel rods on the elongated sides, in a dense grid layout, at the full height the walls, so that they act as confined, composite walls, having adequate strength under compression and shear.

At the same time, the steel “jacket” acts as longitudinal reinforcement of the composite structural elements – walls –  and the steel rods as transverse reinforcement.


The “jacket” also acts as a “remaining formwork”.


In addition, the concrete infill and the steel transverse rods protect the steel sheets of the “jackets” from buckling.


In some high technology areas of the Telecommunications’ Center where welding is not permitted, the steel connections are established by means of bolting.


Furthermore, the buildings are connected to each other – every two or three – and converted from 15 to 7 static independent buildings.


The connections take place at the joints between the buildings and on every floor level.


This reduces earthquake displacements and drifts and eliminates the risk of pounding, especially between the two 12-storey buildings.


On two buildings, where it is technically impossible to intervene at the interior, the strengthening interventions are carried out exclusively at their exterior, with shear walls and reinforced concrete frames, fully attached on the facades.


The connections to the existing building are made with chemical anchors.


The solution applied has the advantage of speed, cost, safety, flexibility of the in phases construction, as well as avoiding dust, water, vibration and nuisance in the technology spaces.

Location
Athens

Date
2015

Owner
OTE ESTATE

Architect

Kokkinou – Kourkoulas Architects & Associates

Contractor

Our Scope of Works
Tender, Preliminary, Final Design, Construction Design, Site Supervision

Characteristic images

Videos

Project location

Share this project

Similar projects

Day Tower, Office Building, Bucharest

Day Tower, Office Building, Bucharest

A new, multi-storey building in the center of Bucharest, Romania, completed in 2017. It is a corner, free from everywhere building on Unirii Boulevard, next to the Palace of Justice, in a particularly distinguished position.

Delenco, Office Building, Bucharest

Delenco, Office Building, Bucharest

The “Delenco” office building, in the center of Bucharest, consists of two underground levels, a ground floor and ten more storeys and it is built with reinforced concrete.

Office Building, Kifissia, Athens

Office Building, Kifissia, Athens

In the center of Kefalari, in the Municipality of Kifissia in Athens, there is an old 1955 hotel consisting of a basement, a ground floor and three floors.

Shop and Office Building, Agia Paraskevi, Athens

Shop and Office Building, Agia Paraskevi, Athens

It is an existing reinforced concrete building, built in 1985, in Agia Paraskevi, with two basements, a ground floor, a floor and a roof, which served as a single shop and suffered extensive fire in 2010 for approximately two hours.

Shop Building, Ermou, Volos

Shop Building, Ermou, Volos

It is an existing two-storey building, built in the 1930s. It is located in the center of Volos, in the busiest commercial area, on Ermou Street.

Circului Park Tower, Office Building, Bucharest

Circului Park Tower, Office Building, Bucharest

Modern, “minimal”, office building consisting of a basement, ground floor and 3 more storeys, with rectangular plan view, located in Bucharest, Romania which is characterized as a seismic prone area.

cubus engineering

cubus engineering
7, Themistokli Sofouli Str.

154 51, Neo Psychiko
Athens, Greece

Contact Information
_______________________

Web: https://cubusengineering.gr
Email: cubusengineering@gmail.com
Tel.: 0030 210 6722360, 366, 389
Fax: 0030 210 6722 382