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History and Experience
1980 – 1988 - Argentina
A number of projects were developed in Argentina in the specific
field of structural engineering working mainly with reinforced
concrete and metallic structures.
Some of the main projects were apartment buildings (up to 10
stories), schools, churches, sports complexes, public buildings such
as telephone and postal services, to mention a few.
Most of such projects were seismic-resistant structures because of
their location in seismic areas.
1988 – Present – Unites States
Through the years, our work can be mainly categorized in two
different great areas:
1) New projects.
New projects allow us to work on developing our system and methods
from the ground up to roof going through all different phases of the
structural design.
This part is well explained in the previous paragraph “Structural
Design”.
2) Existing projects.
This section describes how we treat existing buildings and their
needs. Regarding this point it is worth mentioning that this is a
field that is becoming more important in these days.
Those mentioned projects that are remodeled, updated and/or
reinforced to comply with the Code standards, whether it be for
winds and/or earthquakes.
This is a very broad field in which a varied and important amount of
elements to consider are involved to make the best possible
assessment of existing structures.
From this starting point, our team of professionals and technicians
work in molding and developing structures, giving priority to our
objectives based on the following premises:
a) Team work with the owner and/or its representatives, architect,
contractor and/or specialized personnel.
b) Scheduling and execution times are a permanent priority to try to
accomplish maximum effectiveness.
c) Costs are always a high-priority item that is totally related to
the previous paragraph in each stage.
d) Our Consulting Department could include upon request and as part
of our services, a follow-up or audit of the works that is actually
a technical supervision that is also necessary due to the permanent
progress of the work while the different structural components are
being exposed and/or discovered.
Regarding this point it is worth mentioning that a huge progress has
been made in matters of technology.
Our company has “concrete scanners”, which allows us to anticipate
with much greater certainty the existing structures regarding the
size of columns, beams, slabs and foundations. At the same time, the
steel bar reinforcements are being read as well as their location in
the concrete and if they have any rustiness.
This is often another additional challenge that may be caused by
"external chemical factors" such as water, salt, etc.
3) Structural design for existing
structures
Going back to the previous point, the efficiency of those scanners
allows us to approach the structural design and calculation with
greater precision.
Assumptions are eliminated and, as mentioned before, more exact
information is used that is transformed into direct savings of costs
which is explained as follows: when existing structures are assessed
and analyzed, as structural engineers, and with more traditional
methods which comprised elements that were largely unknown.
The obvious tendency, which can be seen in numerous works, is to
oversize the structural components, which directly affects
construction timeframes and cost, two components that go
hand-in-hand and have a great impact.
Our calculation method is based on having the existing structure
(provided it is in acceptable condition) and using it as our basis
for calculation. The deficiencies for each calculation component are
then analyzed and are typically complemented with a light steel
frame structure that is parallel and attached to the existing
structure.
This is a generally light structure that is connected to what
already exists.
In coordination with able work personnel, the installation time can
be optimized and reduced to a minimum, which is very necessary when
trying to keep those places functioning almost to their maximum
potential.
Photos are attached to give a better idea and illustrate everything
that has been explained.
Also attached is a list of the main works carried out by Silvestre
Engineering. |
