Nearly 2,300 years ago, a great enterprise was conceived in Alexandria, the ancient Bibliotheca Alexandrina. At the beginning of the third millennium the new Bibliotheca Alexandrina has been built alongside the University of Alexandria overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The Library is planned as a public library. The design concept, the critical ground conditions and the aggressive saline environment, due to the proximity to the sea, required remarkable foundation and structural works. This paper presents the foundation and structural design of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The various elements of the library building are described and the structural design challenges are summarised. The sophisticated geotechnical and structural analyses that were carried out during the design stage are also described.
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August 2003
Research Article|
August 01 2003
Foundation and structural design of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
M. Hamza;
M. Hamza
Prof. of Soil Mech. and Found. Enging.
Suez Canal Uni., Found
. and Managing Partner of Hamza Associates
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M. Ghoneim
M. Ghoneim
Assoc. Prof. of Structural Engineering
Cairo University
, and Senior Assoc. at Hamza Associates
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Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Received:
October 17 2001
Accepted:
April 30 2002
Online ISSN: 1751-7702
Print ISSN: 0965-0911
© 2003 Thomas Telford Ltd
2003
Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Structures and Buildings (2003) 156 (3): 235–241.
Article history
Received:
October 17 2001
Accepted:
April 30 2002
Citation
Hamza M, Ghoneim M (2003), "Foundation and structural design of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Structures and Buildings, Vol. 156 No. 3 pp. 235–241, doi: https://doi.org/10.1680/stbu.2003.156.3.235
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