First Reinforced Concrete Building in Rijeka Port - Ferenc Pfaff‘s Warehouse No.17

Abstract

This paper will explore an early reinforced concrete warehouse, constructed from 1906 till 1909, which is the most impressive warehouse in Rijeka Port – with ground floor dimensions equal to 45x100 m, consisting of a basement, high ground floor and three storeys, designed to sustain 15 kN/m2 floor loading. This warehouse is the first building in Rijeka Port constructed entirely as a reinforced concrete structure and demonstrates significant technical achievements, which have not been sufficiently valorised so far. Besides obtaining information about the structural design of early reinforced concrete structures special attention will be given to better understanding of early 20th century construction techniques and particularly to reinforcement detailing, since original plans and construction drawings with detailed information about the reinforcement have been preserved.

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References

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