UAB Imlitex Holdings
AB YIT Kausta
ADAPT-Builder
Post-Tensioned Slabs, Post-Tensioned Beams, Transfer Slab
2018
The Arka Business Centre, located in Kaunas, Lithuania is a modern, seven-story office building completed in 2018. The 125,000 sq-ft structure was designed to be a new center for city life in Kaunas, while also being convenient and comfortable for the people who work there. The glass façade was implemented to bring the outside in, providing employees the opportunity to view Nemunas Island on one side and the Žaliakalnis hillside panorama on the other. Finally, the building is situated such that it spans over top of historical Karmelitai street, creating a unique tunnel-like path that runs through the structure.
"ADAPT-Builder is the best and most flexible tool for the investigation, value engineering and design of all types of post-tensioned buildings"
— Artjoms Samarins, CEO
The primary structure of the building consists of concrete columns, concrete shear walls and concrete post-tensioned slabs. Due to the location and positioning of the building on the site, the architect chose to integrate the crossing street into the design. The result of this was a transfer slab that was designed by Strandeck and utilizes a series of one-way beams to carry the loads of the five floors above. These five post-tensioned concrete beams each had a cross section 6ft x 3.28ft and varied in length from 52.5ft to 66.6ft depending on their position over the gap. The post-tensioned slab and beams solution was also used to achieve the required 13ft cantilevers as well as the limiting of exterior glass façade deflection to 4in.
To overcome the complex design challenges of the building, Strandeck utilized ADAPT-Builder to assure the architect and building owner that a post-tensioned transfer slab could be utilized in-lieu of the originally programed 2-story steel truss. To achieve this, Strandeck created a complete model in ADAPT-Builder, including all required loading conditions. Once the basic geometry of the structure was input, the engineers could then use the robust modeling and input tools within ADAPT-Builder to easily create the required tendon layouts. Finally, with the design complete, the generation of detailed reports as well as the ability to utilize an exhaustive bill of materials (including tendon areas, lengths, etc.) made for easy validation and proved instrumental in proving the value of the proposed post-tensioned system.
Image 1: UAB Imlitex Holdings | Images 2-4: Strandeck