Form Follows Geometry

by Terrell B. Guinn, (M.ASCE), Structural Engr./Pres.; King/Guinn Associates, P.A., Charlotte, NC,
Douglas Fitzpatrick, Structural Engr.; King/Guinn Assoc., P.A., Charlotte, NC,


Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1990, Vol. 60, Issue 11, Pg. 42-45


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

The $107 million NCNB Plaza in Tamps, Fla. consists of a 32 floor, 500,000 sq ft, 455 ft tall office tower; a 40,000 sq ft, 78 ft tall banking hall, and a 280,000 sq ft parking garage topped by a 3.5 acre park. The entire complex is based on a strict geometric ratios devised by the architect and followed by the structural engineers. The tower is a 150 ft diameter concrete tube with a 77 ft circular core. There are no interior shear walls. The framing consists of radial beams and post-tensioning. The adjacent banking pavilion is two 78 ft cubes joined by a central atrium. For stability, all beam-to-column joints are full-moment connections. The two-level below-grade garage is framed in 39 ft bays with post-tensioned slabs. In the park, a one-way slab and upturned beam system supports a minimum of 1 ft of soil, pools, pavers and a 600 ft long canal, all designed to the architect's 1,5,2,5-ft module.

Subject Headings: Parking facilities | Beams | Tension | Slabs | Shear walls | Parks | Geometrics

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