Torre Mayor
| Torre Mayor | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Type | Office |
| Location | Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City |
| Coordinates | 19°25′27″N 99°10′32″W / 19.42417°N 99.17556°WCoordinates: 19°25′27″N 99°10′32″W / 19.42417°N 99.17556°W |
| Construction started | 1999 |
| Completed | 2003 |
| Height | |
| Antenna spire | 230.1 m (755 ft) |
| Roof | 225.4 m (740 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 55 |
| Floor area | 84,135 m2 (905,620 sq ft) |
| Elevators | 29 |
| Design and construction | |
| Main contractor | A.D. Tec Gerencia de Construcción |
| Architect | Adamson Associates Architects Zeidler Roberts Partnership IDEA Asociados de los Estados Unidos Méxicanos |
| Developer | Reichmann International Empresas ICA Sociedad Controladora |
| Structural engineer | WSP Group |
| References | |
| [1] | |
The Torre Mayor is a skyscraper in Mexico City, Mexico. With a height of 225 meters (740 feet) to the top floor and 55 storeys, it's the second tallest building in Latin America, surpassed by Ocean Two in Panama City with 236 meters. Torre Mayor surpassed in 2003 the 220 meter (724 feet) high towers of Parque Central Complex in Caracas (Venezuela), which were the tallest buildings in Latin America since 1999. The Torre Mayor was developed by Canadian businessman Paul Reichmann, who also maintains part ownership. It is also part-owned by a group of institutional investors. The building was designed by the architectural firms of Zeidler Partnership Architects and Executive Architects Adamson Associates Architects, both of Toronto.
Located at Paseo de la Reforma, it was built by Canadian-owned Reichmann International on the former location of the Cine Chapultepec. Construction work began in 1999 and was finished in late 2003. Due to Mexico City's high propensity to earthquakes, the tower incorporates several anti-earthquake measures. In fact, this building shares the title of the strongest (in matter of pro-earthquake engineering) building on Earth alongside U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles, California.[citation needed] The Torre Mayor building is designed to withstand an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter Scale, compared to the U.S. Bank Tower that can withstand an 8.3-intensity earthquake.
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[edit] Earthquake resistance
The Torre Mayor stands on the lakebed area where most of the 1985 earthquake damage occurred,[2] It was built with 96 dampers, which work like car shock absorbers to block the resonating effect of the lakebed and its own height.[3] These diamond-shaped dampers are seen architecturally on its perimeter. With this extra-bracing, this tower can withstand earthquake forces nearly four times as efficiently as a conventionally damped building. The dampening system proved its worth in January 2003, a 7.6 earthquake shook the city. Not only did the building survive undamaged, occupants inside at the time did not know a tremor had occurred.[2]
[edit] Explosive device
On Friday, 31 August 2007, a homemade explosive device attached to a cell phone was found in a car parked in the building. The device was removed without incident after an anonymous phone tip prompted the authorities to evacuate 10,000 people from the building. [4][5]
[edit] References
- ^ Torre Mayor - SkyscraperPage.com
- ^ a b Post, Nadine M. (2003-06-30). "Latin America's Tallest Sports Super-Efficient Damper-Studded Diamonds". Engineering News Record 250 (25): 34–38. ISSN 08919526.
- ^ Hardman, Chris (Jul/August 2004). "A Damper on Quakes". Americas 56 (4): 4. ISSN 03790940.
- ^ "Hallan artefacto explosivo en la Torre Mayor; más de 10 mil desalojados". www.jornada.unam.mx. 2007-08-31. http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/08/31/index.php?section=capital&article=038n1cap. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ "Bomb scare at Mexico skyscraper". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-08-31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6971652.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
