Structural Design Comments for HTU G+6

University Expansion Project

This document contains structural design comments on the provided final drawings for foundation
construction (Page 00,01,02,17/24). Since there are some discrepancies between the final structural
drawings and the revised architectural drawings, these comments do not include those based on the
structural analysis. The structural analysis will be conducted after resolving the integration of the
mismatched points between the structural and architectural drawings."

From Integration with Architectural Drawing

1. Findings based on the overlapping of the structural and architectural layouts: structural layout
is marked with a green line and architectural layout is marked with a yellow line.

2. There is a lift shaft that provides service starting from the ground floor. This lift shaft requires
shear walls extending down to the foundation mat for stability. However, this would block the
ramp leading to the basement floor. Therefore, an alternative solution needs to be found.
3. As shown in the drawing below, the lift shaft shear wall is located next to the expansion joint
in the architectural drawing. However, in the structural drawing, the lift shaft shear wall is
directly on the expansion joint. This will disrupt the purpose of the expansion joint, which is
to allow for building movement and prevent stress due to thermal expansion, seismic activity,
or settlement. Placing the shear wall directly on the expansion joint will hinder its ability to
absorb these movements, potentially leading to structural damage.

Architectural Drawing

Structural Drawing
From Structural Drawings
1. As clearly specified in the structural drawing, the mat foundation consists of a 600mm thick
reinforced concrete slab and 600x1200mm sized beams. Since the design needs to comply with
ES EN, the mat foundation design must fulfill the requirements stated in ES EN 1998, Section
5.8.2, subsections 3 to 5.

This statement means that if the analysis of the foundation requires a 600mm thick slab, a minimum
reinforcement of 1200𝑚𝑚2 is needed. This translates to either ∅14𝑐/𝑐120 𝑜𝑟 ∅16𝑐/𝑐160 𝑜𝑟 ∅20𝑐/
𝑐260.

For the 600𝑥1200𝑚𝑚 mat Beam a minimum reinforcement of 2880𝑚𝑚2 is required. Which
translated to 9∅20 𝑜𝑟 7∅24. As stated in the code, this minimum reinforcement must be continuous
along the full length of the beam.
2. The provided general note states that an overlap length of 50∅ is required but almost all Mat
beams reinforcement do not fulfill this requirement.
3. The reinforcement length and can be adjusted using the overlap location to minimize waste
during construction.
4. In the ramp section, the provided slab section is 200𝑚𝑚. According to ES EN 1992, a 200𝑚𝑚
slab section requires double reinforcement. However, the drawing shows only bottom
reinforcement. Additionally, the ramp section is not shown on the plan, preventing a clear view
of the additional retaining wall and beam elevation, as well as the ramp elevation need to be
specified. Furthermore, the necessary modifications to the beam details around the ramp is
required.
5. When constructing the mat foundation, we need to include starter bars for the vertical structural
elements, such as columns and shear walls. Therefore, we require the final drawings for the
vertical structural elements prior to beginning of the foundation construction.
6. The retaining shear walls must be clearly shown on the foundation layout.
7. As observed during the excavation for the foundation construction, there is no need to provide
a temporary shoring structure on the site. Therefore, the section detail that includes the shoring
detail needs to be revised.
8. Additionally, before starting the construction of the retaining shear wall, we require the final
sanitary drawings to be able to work on subsurface drainage.
9. Repeated axis names are shown on the plan, making it complicated when referring to the details.
It is recommended to use different names for different axes.
From General Structural Design Concept
1. It is required the building to fulfill Structural Simplicity, Uniform, symmetry and redundancy,
Bi-directional resistance and stiffness, Torsional resistance and stiffness, Diaphragmatic
behavior at story level, and to provide Adequate foundation.
2. To verify the regularity and structural framing system, it is evident that additional lateral load-
resisting shear walls are required to complement the existing shear walls for the lift shaft. This
measure will prevent the building from being torsionally flexible and ensure efficient
diaphragmatic action to transfer lateral loads to the lateral load-resisting system.
3. This revision clarifies the need for additional shear walls, their purpose in preventing torsional
flexibility, and their role in ensuring effective transfer of lateral loads.