Hotel Palas – structural consolidation
Provided Service
Construction design Technical consultancy Geotechnical engineering Materials' testing laboratory
Sector
Hoteluri Heritage buildings
Location
Bucharest
Publishing date
17 August 2023
Coordinator
This project involved the consolidation, restoration and conservation of the building known as “Hotel Palas” or “Hotel Royal Palace”.
For the overall structural strengthening of this building, with the objective of increasing the degree of insurance against seismic actions, our team provided the following services: structural design, technical consultancy, geotechnical study and analysis of construction materials.
Following the visual inspection of the building and its surroundings, the consolidation project was based on the technical documentation provided by the beneficiary, namely: a historical study drawn up in May 2016 by Credo Design, a technical expertise drawn up in 1996 by Prof. Radu Petrovici, an addition to the technical expertise drawn up by dr. Traian Popp, Eng. in 1999, a technical expertise for emergency safety prepared in July 2016 by A1 and A2 certified technical expert (Eng. Dragoș Marcu) and MCC technical expert (Prof. Dr. Eng. Mircea Crișan).
The project was supervised by: a technical expert certified for A1 and A2 requirements (Dragoș Marcu, Eng.) and technical verifier certified for A1 and A2 requirements (Ionel Badea, Eng.)
Description
The works aimed to stop the degradation processes of the existing construction caused over time by the effects of the mechanical and climatic environment and to restore the building to constructive equilibrium. At the same time, the aim was to preserve the existing movable and immovable heritage values in situ, with a view to their rehabilitation and functionalization. Class B heritage monument, located in a protected area. Year of construction: ca. 1922-1928.
Features
Gross Area:
Number of Storeys:
10,500 sqm
B+GF+6F
Description
The works aimed to stop the degradation processes of the existing construction caused over time by the effects of the mechanical and climatic environment and to restore the building to constructive equilibrium. At the same time, the aim was to preserve the existing movable and immovable heritage values in situ, with a view to their rehabilitation and functionalization. Class B heritage monument, located in a protected area. Year of construction: ca. 1922-1928.
Features
Gross Area:
10,500 sqm
Number of Storeys:
B+GF+6F
Brief history
The building known as Hotel Palas consists of three buildings designed and built in the interwar period, a few years apart, between 1922 and 1927. The three buildings were built with the participation of renowned architects and engineers such as: architect Ernest Doneaud, architect Constantin Ciogolea and engineer prof. Aurel A. Beleș.
Initially the buildings were built on Constantin Mille st. (height B+GF+5F+Attic, respectively B+GF+5F+M+6Partial storey) and subsequently the building on Brezoianu st. (B+GF+5F). In the above-ground part, the buildings are separated by light courtyards.
The information contained in the previous technical surveys indicated that the building has undergone several modifications and changes of use over time. During the communist period the building was used for a while as a student dormitory, and in 1974 it returned to its hotel use, when a series of structural changes were made.
At the time of the preliminary technical expertise (2016), the building was in a continuous process of deterioration, due to rehabilitation and consolidation works that were started and stopped over long periods in two different phases (5 years and 7+8 years).
The building’s resistance structure consists of load-bearing brick masonry walls with rare reinforced concrete elements (pillars and slats), probably introduced following interventions carried out during the building’s existence. The floors are made in a multitude of variations. The original infrastructure was made of thick masonry walls, spaced close together.
Taking into account the current state of the building (consolidation works started and not completed, areas with a high potential for collapse), an emergency safety assessment was carried out and emergency safety building permission was obtained.
The building rehabilitation project included:
– emergency safety works in terms of stability and condition preservation;
– works to complete the consolidation process started and stopped;
– works to increase the seismic insurance rating;
– works to ensure the functionality of the building – following the rehabilitation , the building will be restored to its main function as a hotel.
The intervention measures followed the recommendations of the technical expertise drawn up in 2016, which aimed to verify the condition of the building before the start of the consolidation project, to check the local stability of the building, the influence on the resistance structure of further exposure to climatic factors, and the measures needed to ensure local and overall stability.