CLIENT ODAC, Tripoli, Libya
ARCHITECTURE Archea Associati
STRUCTURE aei progetti
MEP AND FIRE PROTECTION Studio Ti
DESIGN 2011
AREA 8.000 sqm
VOLUME 30.000 cum
TOTAL COST 40 mio €
STRUCTURE COST 14,7 mio €
RENDERINGS Archea Associati
«In the area, south-east of Tripoli, an orthogonal grid inspired by the model of American campus has been developed on the typical plains covered by olive trees that border on the desert. The plot reserved for the architecture faculty lies alongside that of the new library, central element in a project aimed at renovation and expansion.
The concept rejects a hierarchical arrangement of the façades, while the references to local architectures with their closed façades which protect from the sun and the winds, overlook the interior courts. Four volumes are arranged to form a four-leaf clover around a covered central square, crossed by the two orthogonal axes which identify the public paths. The external façade features a continuous system of structural steelwork onto which gold-glazed earthenware tiles are fixed: a union between the passive technology of the sunscreen and the characteristic patterns of traditional wooden grating screens and mosques. The closed external façades are in contrast with the interior elevations, which are completely glazed, showing the students’ life in the three-floor rings». [text from Studio Archea]
The buildings are structurally designed as bi-directional portal frames, using cast in place reinforced concrete, where each floor is realized by two-way slab without any drop beam that could have interfered with mechanical and electrical distributions. Expansion joints between different blocks are foreseen in order to minimize the effect of high temperature variations that characterize the site. Furthermore expansion joints allow to solve the problems connected to structural behavior of plan irregularity of the entire complex. R.c. cores and walls are designed to resist to seismic actions. The good soil bearing capacity allow to use shallow foundation, both through raft and strip solutions.