Building Type : Commercial
Location : Chennai
Status : Completed
Nature of work : Architect
The fortunes of this structure, from an old antique three-storeyed building into a first rate modern five-storeyed one, changed with its purchase by the National Insurance Co., Ltd.
Remodelling of old buildings generally requires great Engineering skill in the solution of various problems that face work of such sort, and in this instance they were not few. The first was to provide suitable foundations to take up the load of the additional floors proposed to be built. Such addition on the existing founda- tion and walls was, of course, out of the question. It was decided to relieve the loads on the existing walls and carry the load of all floors on a new frame work of Reinforced Concrete.
The additional reinforced footings for the foundations carry a load of nearly 560 tons, which would have been added on to the main walls, had it not been for the new frame work. This is perhaps the first building in Madras where footings, columns, beams and floors are all of reinforced concrete at that time.
The foundations for columns or walls adjoining the walls of the existing adjacent buildings were dealt with in a clever manner by adopting combination reinforced concrete footings common to pairs of columns across the walls and coupled by them. The loads for the office rooms etc., north of the hall were distributed evenly on all the four walls around the rooms by adopting two-way reinforced slabs presenting a very neat and pleasant beamless ceiling.
The construction began in the first week of April 1935 and had to be proceeded with, floor after floor as each was being occupied. This required great skill and care in the arrangement of formwork for the reinforced concrete and the finishing of beams and slabs one after the other, with the least amount of trouble to the occupants. Despite numerous difficulties the structural portion of the building was completed in less than six months which is really creditable for the agencies engaged in its construction.
To fit in an appropriate elevation to an old style building and at the same time retain most of its previous arrangements of openings etc., presented a problem The former elevation had that had to be tackled with consideration and care. openings arched over by flat and segmental arches of various rises and a gable end of the roof in the frontage.