No_1_June_1964 — Page 96

To produce a solid base. concrete was poured continuously for about 250 hours over more than 10 days and nights. Six five-yard transit mixers delivered

mix in relays at an average of 25 cubic yards per hour. No chutes were used and pouring was done by buggies.

concrete

BASEMENT WATERPROOFING

The

The basement houses all the ma- chineries, motors, power centre, print- ing press, etc. Considering that it is from 8 to 10 feet lower than the water table of Manila during the rainy season, keeping it dry at all times was one of the biggest pro- blems This was solved by placing four layers of Pozzolith waterproof- ing membrane along the entire outer vertical surface of the perimeter walls and on top of the floor slab. outer membrane was protected by a wall of six inch concrete hollow blocks. For added insurance, the inside face of the perimeter walls was plastered with Embecco mortar. At the floor slab, а three inch solid concrete block was first laid. Then the membrane waterproofing was placed and a four inch concrete slab was poured on top as the finish- ed floor surface. The gap between the solid blocks served as drainage canals for the water that seeped through the 52 inch slab. The water

drains to four sump pits, each pro- vided with an automatic pump which is tripped off when the water rises to half-full level and is shut off again when the pit is almost empty. A total of 174,000 square feet of waterproof- ing membrane was used.

STRUCTURAL CONCRETE

SHELL

The structural shell of the building is made of reinforced concrete columns carrying concrete flat slabs. Interior stairwells, toilets and machine rooms are enclosed with concrete bearing walls. There are no beams or girders crisscrossing above and below the ceiling and this space is used for water and sewer pipes, electrical conduits and airconditioning ducts. Including the foundation, a total of 28,000 cubic yards of con- crete was poured and 4,000 lbs. of reinforcing steel was used. All con- crete used was of 3,000 lbs. p.s.i. strength and a pair of cylindrical samples was made for every 15 cubic yards poured for testing and control- ling the quality. The volume of con- crete consumed in making these samples was more than enough to finish the footings and floor slabs of a medium sized bungalow. Along the entire southern wall of the building.

The kitchen has a quarry tile floor and glazed tile walls.

a

there is 20 feet wide cantilever canopy which will serve as a covered parking space for 45 cars.

UNDERFLOOR DUCTS

All the office areas are provided with electrical underfloor ducts with twin outlets every two feet by five feet. One outlet is for a telephone and the other is an outlet to which any electrically run office machine can be plugged. With this close spacing of four outlets, no matter how the office desks are arranged, each desk will fall on top of a twin outlet. This eliminates the ugly criss-crossing of leads and wiring.

DECK ROOF INSULATION AND WATERPROOFING

The deck roof slab over the seventh floor, the promenade deck on the second floor and the arched roof of the auditorium, are all insulated with a two inch layer of Perlite mor- tar. This has minimised the effect of the sun on the rooms below, thereby reducing the load on the aircondition- ing system. On top of this layer, a four-ply waterproofing membrane was laid. For the promenade deck, the finishing layer is vitrified mosaic tiles laid on mortar. For the roof of the auditorium, the finishing layer is lead