The Santa Fe III Tower is one of the tallest in Latin America with its 62 levels and clearly the one with the greatest geometric complexity as it is three very tall towers leaning and joined together.

Luis Bozzo Structures and Projects S.L was in charge of all the analysis and design of the structure, including its construction process and verification of movements. The complex structure is made up of 3 buildings (A, B and C) “twinned” or joined together at different heights and including our innovative “SLBs” that have allowed savings of more than 2000 tons of weight for the foundation.

An extremely complex aspect of this project is its irregularity in plan and height, which causes instantaneous lateral displacements of up to 15cm on the roof due to the effects of its own weight and permanent loads.

To minimize these construction movements, a complex step-by-step structural analysis is adopted with a construction “in reverse” of the expected displacements on each floor, which materializes with displacements imposed between the base and the head of each column of each floor between 10 and 20mm.

Compensating the geometry of each level, it is built counteracting the deformation and keeping the elevator core straight without practically any collapse. The horizontal calculation movements were very precisely correlated with measurements throughout the construction process.

The structure is made up of a central concrete core and on one side SLBs on metallic diagonals together with spatial frames on the perimeter of each tower and interior flat space to facilitate installations and make better use of space. The foundation is based on 150cm diameter piles and a central foundation slab.

Therefore, the “resistant skeleton” is formed by frames only on the perimeter of each building A, B and C, but without hanging beams inside the building. Inside, and only to reduce the span to approximately 12m, there is one column per building that does not contribute to the lateral load system (they are only available by gravity).