UDS - Icon: High-rise Building Safety in Light of the 6.5 Richter Scale Earthquake
UDS - Icon: High-rise Building Safety in Light of the 6.5 Richter Scale Earthquake
In light of the recent 6.5 Richter scale earthquake and the seismic behavior of Icon in Limassol, UDS Architects would like to express their gratitude and give credit to the Technical and Scientific Consultants who collaborated with them.
Specifically, the team that worked primarily on the strength and safety aspects of Icon includes Hyperstatic Engineering, Civil Engineers; Elemec, Electrical/Mechanical Engineers; Cavazos & Co. Ltd, Façade Engineers; and IntFire (Cyprus) Ltd, Fire Safety Consultants.
Pavlos Antoniades and Andreas Eleftheriou, Architects and founding members of UDS Architects, state in a joint statement:
"The safety specifications upon which Icon was designed and constructed are based on innovative practices that fully meet the requirements regarding seismic resilience, energy efficiency, fire safety, circulation and accessibility. Designing tall buildings has always presented us with numerous challenges, mainly of a technical nature. Designing in a seismically active region means that the structural aspect of the study is an integral part of the integrated architectural design and takes place parallel to the initial stages of architectural design. The study team, composed of Cypriot and foreign scientists and engineers, has ensured the implementation of the most modern and innovative technologies and solutions in the two buildings, thus satisfying the most demanding European and international specifications for enhanced strength and safety. These solutions have been organically integrated into the architectural design. The technical expertise gained will be utilized in the near future for the benefit of conventionally sized buildings in terms of cost and height."
For the past 20 years, UDS Architects has been involved in the design of residential, commercial, and complex projects in Cyprus, acquiring valuable experience and expertise through collaborations with international firms and architectural offices.