Alinghi Base for the 32nd America’s Cup, Valencia, Spain

Peter Tanner, Civil Eng.; and Juan Luis Bellod, Civil Eng.; Cesma Ingenieros, Madrid, Spain

Introduction bases were unknown during the design lounge. The roof is also fitted with a
stage, the organization decided to pro- bar.
On 2 March 2003, Team Alinghi went vide the shell only, leaving the outfit-
down in history for defeating Team ting to each individual team. Further
New Zealand to bring the America’s to Team Alinghi’s service criteria, its Conceptual Design
Cup (AC) to Europe for the first time base is double the size of the standard
in over 150 years. After that victory, base defined by the AC organizers. Overall System
the Société Nautique de Genève, Swit- From the outside, the viewer sees a The framework envisaged for the Alin-
zerland, on whose behalf Team Alinghi prism-shaped building, 68 m long, 39 ghi Base was fairly conventional, with
competed, together with the Challe- m wide and 13,5 m high (Fig. 1). The steel columns, composite beams and
nger of Record, the Golden Gate sea-side south facade has two large composite slabs (Fig. 1). The design
Yacht Club, announced the creation of entrances to the boatshed, positioned called for continuous columns, from
America’s Cup Management (ACM), between axes 2’ and 4’ and 5’ and 8. A the foundations to the roof (Fig. 2).
an independent company mandated to third opening (between axes 12 and 13) Longitudinally, they were spaced from
organize the 32nd AC. On 26 Novem- corresponds to a corridor that crosses 5 to 18 m, whereas transversally the
ber 2003, ACM announced that Valen- the entire building to provide access to standard spacing was 5 m, except in
cia, Spain, would host the 32nd AC. The the jetty from the building’s street-side the corridor between axes B and C
programme for this edition of the AC facade. The rest of the south facade is (Fig. 1(c)), where columns were spaced
included an ambitious 4-year schedule panelled or glazed, the latter particu- at 5,5 m for architectural reasons. Fi-
of regattas starting in 2004 and culmi- larly on the second storey, where the nally, the corridor running from axis
nating in the AC Match, to be held be- 4,5 m wide balcony off the VIP lounge A’ to axis B was to be bounded by the
tween 23 June and 7 July 2007. is accessed through glass doors. This slanted glass facade, varying in width
As a result and within the framework of balcony also stretches around half of from 0,7 m on the ground to 2,9 m on
a more ambitious urban development the length of the east facade, likewise the second storey. On all storeys, the
project, the Inner Harbour of the Port windowed at this level. The street-side main beams were to run parallel to
of Valencia has been reconditioned for facade consists in a slanted glass wall. the longitudinal facades of the build-
the AC event. The infrastructure works The total usable area, nearly 7000 m2 ing. The distance between these beams
included, among others, 12 bases that counting the four storeys (including was to be spanned by a composite slab
would serve as homes before and dur- the accessible roof) into which the with shaped steel sheeting to avoid the
ing the regattas for the defender, Team building is divided, is occupied by of- need for any transverse beams, except
Alinghi, and each of the 11 challengers fices, meeting rooms, a gymnasium, a around the edges to tie the structure
from all over the world. In an environ- restaurant and a shop, in addition to together during construction. This lay-
ment in which the most recent scien- the aforementioned boatshed and VIP out, free of any secondary steel girders,
tific and technological innovations
are put immediately into practice in
pursuit of lighter and faster boats, the (a) 1 2 2′ 3 4 4′ 5 5′ 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

challenge was to deliver sound build- A Street

A′
ings based on modern structural solu- B

tions, in which the design objectives C

of safety, serviceability, economy and D

39,15

elegance were to be achieved mainly E

by means of coherent conceptual de- F

sign, efficient use of materials and G

H
good detailing. This paper describes
I
the structural concept underlying the
J
Alinghi Base, along with the solutions Sea
for a number of structural details and 68,0
certain constructional considerations.
(b) (c)
A A′ B C D E F G H I J
Keywords: Alinghi Base; composite variable
structure; hollow section; bolted con- min. + 13,4
nection; composite joint; glass facade.
– 0,35
Street Sea

Architectural Design 7 10,5 6,9 10,6 18 5 5 5 4,5 3,65 5,5 6×5 4,5

Inasmuch as the various AC partici- Fig. 1: Alinghi Base structure (a) plan view at first storey level; (b) longitudinal section;
pants’ needs and preferences for their (c) cross-section (Units: m)

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 HEA 360 sections (Fig. 1(b)). For
the composite roof beams with span
lengths of 18 m, however, the design
specified 1005 mm high steel I gird-
ers to withstand the loads generated
by the accessible roof and suspended
second storey. These beams would also
have to accommodate large web per-
forations for mechanical and electrical
services, with heights of up to 50% of
the girder height. As the first storey
beams between axes 8 and 12 were to
be exposed, composite truss girders
were to be used in this area for rea-
sons of aesthetics. With a total height
of 1270 mm, these trusses would con-
sist in HEB 180 shapes on the top and
bottom chords and HEB 120 sections
for the diagonals.
Fig. 2: Alinghi Base during construction, view from the jetty In each composite beam, the composite
slab would constitute the top flange, to
which the respective steel girder was
allows to minimize the number of ele- impact, using the adjacent columns to be connected. The total slab depth
ments and on-site connections. as chords. On the sides of the build- envisaged was either 0,12 m (first sto-
ing, the bracing systems were there- rey between axes 1 and 8) or 0,18 m
A 640 m2 column-free area was envis- fore positioned between axes C and D, (all other areas), depending primarily
aged for sail drying on the ground while on the slanted facade they were on the magnitude of the live loads. The
and first storeys, between axes 8 and set between axes 1 and 2, for here only viability of the composite slabs, with
12 and B and I, respectively (Fig. 1). the area bounded by axes 4’ and 15 span lengths of up to 5,5 m and the
Owing to spatial limitations in the sec- was to be glazed. The composite slabs aforementioned overall depths – for
ond storey that affected the compos- would act as diaphragms, transmitting slenderness ratios of 46 and 30, respec-
ite system, the longitudinal beams had any horizontal forces to the bracing tively – would be dependent upon the
intermediate supports in the form of systems. use of lightweight aggregate concrete,
hangers connected to the roof beams, LC, with a density of 1800 kg/m3 and a
the strength and stiffness of which characteristic compressive strength of
were to be enhanced accordingly. By Structural Members
40 N/mm2. Given the seaside location
contrast, the height available in the The engineer’s design called for col- and the presence of large openings in
first storey system sufficed to solve umns made of square, 8 mm steel hol- the south facade of the building, the
the 18 m span length between the col- low sections measuring 300 mm on each admissible chloride content estab-
umns at axes 8 and 12 with simply sup- side, which up to the first storey would lished was 0,1% of the bulk weight
ported composite truss girders spaced be filled with concrete. The latter was of the binder. While there are manda-
at 5 m centres. a safety measure adopted to increase tory standards in prestressed concrete,
the fire resistance of the columns, in such a requirement is not normally
Although Valencia is not a seismic re-
light of the type of work conducted in applied in composite structures. The
gion, the building was to be fitted with
the boatshed. Wherever possible, stan- overall depth of the steel sheeting to
a bracing system to transmit the hori-
dard rolled steel I sections were used be used in the composite slabs posi-
zontal forces due to wind action and
for the composite beams. With a stan- tioned transversally to the beams was
sway imperfections to the foundations,
dard spacing between beams of 5 m, 75 mm. With the span lengths adopted,
a solution that entails a series of advan-
IPE 400 shapes were used in the first the steel sheeting available would
tages over the sway frame design. Both
storey areas subject to small live loads have been unable to transmit the hori-
horizontal displacements and column
(characteristic value = 2 kN/m2) and zontal shear at the interface between
buckling lengths can be reduced, the
having a maximum span length of 7 m the sheet and the concrete by means
former being particularly important
(between axes 1 and 2’, Fig. 1(a)). In of mechanical and frictional interlock-
to ensure the appropriate behaviour
all areas with live loads ranging from ing alone. Consequently, the compos-
of the brittle glass facade. Of particu-
3 to 5 kN/m2 and span lengths of up to ite beam stud connectors were to be
lar relevance in this case was the fact
10,6 m (between axes 5’ and 8 at roof welded through the sheeting as end
that the bracing system solution ad-
level, Fig. 1(b)), HEA 240, 360 or 450 anchorage to ensure the composite
opted implied a simplification of both
shapes were used, depending on the behaviour of the steel sheeting and the
the beam-to-column composite joints,
combination of live load intensity and concrete.
thereby freeing the full bearing capac-
span length.
ity to accommodate vertical loads, and
the foundations, to which no bending Thanks to the use of intermediate
Joints
moments were to be transmitted. The hanger supports, the second storey
bracing systems were to be built into composite beams that were to span Along with shear, negative bending
facades in the form of diagonals in the the 18 m between the columns at axes moments due to predominantly static
windowless areas to minimize visual 8 and 12 could be designed to take loads constitute the main action effects

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 at the beam-to-column connections; the only loads to be transmitted to suggested a fundamental change in
this led to the adoption in the design these members, other than wind pres- the original detailing. To shorten con-
of a semi-rigid, partial-strength com- sure, were the vertical loads from the struction times, the design beam-to-
posite joint (Fig. 3) that attained both roof. The corridors running from axes column joint configuration (Fig. 3) was
design goals, structural robustness and A’ to B on the first and second storey replaced by a welded solution. Welded
the efficient use of materials. Shear slabs were conceived as cantilevers. At connections between steel I girders and
was to be transmitted across a bolted the same time, these slabs were to act hollow section steel columns, however,
double lap joint connecting the web of as lateral restraints for the columns. may lead to failure of the thin column
the steel shapes to a gusset welded in Therefore, the connections between face due to the appearance of plastic
an insert cut into the hollow section the slanted columns and the slabs were hinge lines, both during the intermedi-
steel column. Connections between designed as pins in long slotted holes, ate (joint between steel members) and
steel girders and columns were to be with the axes of the slots perpendicular final (composite joint) stages of the
bolted to shorten structural assembly to the direction of the transfer of wind works. Moreover, when this modifica-
times. During the final stage, the re- loads (Fig. 4). With this scheme, the tion was introduced, it was too late to
inforcement in the composite slab, in span length for transmitting wind loads change the column cross-sections (e.g.
turn, would transmit the tensile forces would be equal to the storey height. open instead of hollow). Measures had
generated by the negative bending The foregoing would also be applicable therefore to be adopted to prevent
moments. The compression forces to both the in- and out-of-plane buck- column-face-failure during the interme-
arising from those moments would be ling lengths for the slanted columns. diate and final stages of construction:
transmitted by contact pressure across With such arrangements, the slanted
a contact plate between the bottom columns could be built with rectangu- – The hollow section steel columns
flange of the steel profile and a hori- lar hollow sections measuring 150 mm were converted to composite
zontal stiffener welded to the outside × 250 mm, with the strong axis oriented columns in which the concrete
of the hollow steel column. to resist the wind pressure; the design infill would stiffen the slender steel
slenderness ratio was 80. constituent plates.This would prevent
The cladding on the glass facade was to plastic failure due to concentrated
be attached directly to the slanted col- compression forces induced by
umns rising from the foundation to the Construction hogging bending moments and
roof (Fig. 1(c)). The objective sought transmitted across the steel shapes.
in the design of these columns was In light of the tight construction sched- This measure would also enhance
maximum slenderness. Consequently, ule, the steel structure subcontractor column fire resistance.

Elevation
Mj
Nj
Vj
Elevation

6 2
B B
3
4 4
5

A 1 A
1
Vertical loads
Vi
2
Internal forces Ni = N j Wind pressure
3 and moments 5
Mi Internal forces
Tie and moments
(Reinforcement)
1 Slanted column
Compression strut 2 LC
Section B – B 3 Steel sheeting
Contact pressure
3 4 Pin
1 Gusset plate 5 Long slotted hole
Section A – A
2 Stiffener 6 Lateral restraint
3 Contact plate for the column
4 Composite slab 4
5 Stud connectors

1
1

2 6
3

Fig. 3: Four-sided, semi-rigid composite joint for beam-to-column Fig. 4: Slanted facade column-to-slab connection via pins in long
connections slotted holes, in which the slab restrains the column laterally

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 – In the final stage, the reinforcement aforementioned ring stiffeners slowed have detrimental side effects. Given
in the composite slab would transmit erection of the steel structure. Nonethe- the interaction between the design,
the tensile forces generated by the less, except the change in the original construction, technical and aesthetic
negative bending moments. Owing beam-to-column connection detailing quality – not to mention the economics
to welded connection stiffness, and the follow-up changes described – of a structure, designers must take an
however, bending moments would above, the structure was built to design active role in construction.
also appear during construction, and completed within the demanding
In the case of the Alinghi Base a sound
before the reinforcement would be construction deadlines.
solution was designed, thanks to the
operational. The moment-induced
adoption of a coherent and modern
tensile forces might therefore lead
structural approach that ensured the
to plastic deformation on the column Conclusion efficient use of materials. The deci-
face, inasmuch as the concrete infill
sion to integrate all members into the
would act as a stiffener for the The above description of the run-up to
overall structural system entailed an
compression forces only. An external the construction of the Alinghi Base
economic quantity of structural steel
ring stiffener positioned on the same exemplifies the importance of concep-
required, on the order of 40 kg/m2 (re-
level as the top flange of the steel tual design, for a structure’s serviceabil-
ferred to the total usable area). Com-
shape had therefore to be devised ity, reliability and economics depend
pared to the structural steel deployed
to prevent the appearance of plastic on the solutions adopted at that stage.
in the standard bases defined by the
hinge lines (Fig. 5). When the conceptual approach is well
AC organizers, a reduction on the
thought out, the design will undergo
This example shows how last-minute order of 45% has been achieved. The
only minor changes in subsequent
changes to the original design, intro- resulting savings may have been in-
stages. The success of a structural de-
duced during construction to accom- vested in the development of the Alin-
sign depends on close three-way coop-
modate contractor preference, may ghi Team’s new boat, SUI 100, thereby
eration between owner, architect and
have consequences that tend to cancel contributing to its successful defence
engineer throughout, starting with the
out the presumed advantages of the of the America’s Cup against the win-
definition of the service criteria.
change. Indeed, self-compacting con- ner of the challenger races, Emirates
crete (SCC), was required to convert Close co-operation among all stake- Team New Zealand.
the hollow section steel columns into holders is also of cardinal impor-
composite members. The determina- tance during construction, to ensure
tion of the appropriate concrete mix that structures are built to design.
and procedures for placing the con- Changes made during the construc-
crete called for preliminary testing tion stage are usually more a reflec- SEI
EI Data Block
that took up a certain amount of the tion of contractor preference or other
already limited time available for con- circumstantial factors than of actual Owner:
struction. Similarly, installation of the technical or practical needs, and may – Structure
City of Valencia
– Facades, M&E, Finishes
Elevation Team Alinghi
Architect:
Areas Ingeniería y Arquitectura,
Valencia, Spain
4
C 5 C
Structural Engineers:
P. Tanner and J. L. Bellod, Cesma
3 Ingenieros, Madrid, Spain
3 2 3 3
Main Contractors:
– Structure; Joint Venture Draga-
dos–Sedesa–Drace, Spain
– Facades, M&E, Finishes
Internal forces
and moments Nüssli, Switzerland
Tie final stage
(Reinforcement)
Steel Structure Subcontractor:
Lems, Valencia, Spain
Section C – C Compression strut
final stage
Structural steel [t] 280
1 Concrete infill
2 External ring stiffener In situ concrete [m3]
3 On-site welds – LC in composite slabs 783
4 Composite slab
3 5 Stud connectors – SCC in composite columns 76
Usable area [m2] 7 000
1

3
3 Total cost of structure
2
[EUR millions] 2,1

Service Date October, 2005

Fig. 5: Welded beam-to-composite column connection with external ring stiffener

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