Ines Engineers developed the design to restructure the 2008 Zaragoza’s Expo into a Business Park from 2008 to 2010.
The restructure project consisted of several performances on the Ronda, Actur and Ebro Buildings. Two diff erent actions were made: an adaptation of the ground and the fi rst floor on one side and, on the other side, the construction of two new steel structure fl oors between the existing ones.
By means of this ingenious approach of new steel fl oor decks, the architectural proposed solutin allowed the transformation of the big pavilions with two fl oors 8 meters high in four fl oors buildings 2.8 meters high after implementation of facilities, which is the proper high for the new use.
The basement was converted into a parking lot. It is composed of an underpressure slab, which supports a water rise of Ebro River to a level of 198.00 m, the concrete slab is 0.40 m thick. In this level, new elevator pits have been necessary to meet the changing needs of the building for using it as offi ces.
Around the basement there is a retaining wall that has a dual role: it resists the earth pressure and contains the water pressure of the Ebro River Avenue, up to the height of 198.00 m. This wall needed opening and closing holes, to adapt it to the new parking use.
The first and third fl oors are newly built and lie on an 8.0 x 8.0 m grid. This grid is made of precast concrete pillars and steel columns. The slab is defi ned by a series of steel beams, made of open IPE type profi les, 8.00 m long, which support metal straps, formed by IPE profi les 8.00 m long. The slab is defi ned by a corrugated metal decking poured with concrete. The total depth of composite slab is 0.15 m.
The new stairs, as well as the existing ones, have been defi ned with steel open UPN type profiles.
These interventions were considered since the design of the pavilions for phase Expo, so both structure and foundations were prepared for the creation of openings on existing fl oors as well as incorporating the two new fl oors for restructuring the buildings.
