CASE STUDY
Historic Cabana Hotel Column Strengthening With Carbon FRP
Core tests found low-strength concrete in many columns of a historic Art Deco hotel in Miami Beach that was gaining two new stories. 183 columns were strengthened with QuakeWrap® carbon FRP fabric. Fifteen years later the building, now a Hilton, shows no sign of damage.
Project Details
- BUILDING
- Cabana Hotel (the former Allison Hotel), now a Hilton hotel
- LOCATION
- 6261 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, Florida
- STRUCTURE
- Eight-story beachfront historic landmark with concrete columns
- PROBLEM
- Concrete strength below the design value in many columns, plus loads from two added stories
- QUAKEWRAP® SYSTEM
- QuakeWrap® carbon FRP fabric, 2 to 8 layers per column
- SCOPE
- 183 columns, 35,000 sq ft of FRP fabric
- CONSULTANTS
- Gopman Engineers, Miami, Florida, and QuakeWrap, Inc., Tucson, Arizona
- GENERAL CONTRACTOR
- GS2, Miami, Florida
- COMPLETED
- June 2007
PROJECT VIDEO
FRP Strengthening of Concrete Columns in a Historic Hotel Building
Plays from YouTube
01 · THE CHALLENGE
A Landmark That Had to Stay, With Columns That Fell Short
The former Allison Hotel on Collins Avenue was declared a historic landmark for its Art Deco facade finishes, so it could not be demolished. The renovation kept the existing building, added two more stories and built an adjacent condominium tower.
Extensive core testing of the concrete columns found that a significant percentage had compressive strengths below the design value. The columns needed more strength to handle both the low-strength concrete and the added load from the new stories.
02 · THE SOLUTION
Carbon Wraps Sized Column by Column
The QuakeWrap® FRP strengthening system was selected to retrofit 183 columns. Each column received its own strengthening scheme, with two to eight layers of QuakeWrap® carbon fabric depending on that column's needs.
Gopman Engineers of Miami and QuakeWrap, Inc. were the consultants on the project, and GS2 of Miami was the general contractor.
- Strengthening covered low concrete strength and added story loads together
- Two to eight carbon layers, set for each column
- 35,000 sq ft of fabric installed by two five-person crews in 8 weeks
03 · THE RESULT
Completed in 2007 and Still Performing 15 Years Later
The column strengthening was completed in June 2007.
The building has since been converted to a Hilton hotel. In QuakeWrap's 2022 update to the project sheet, after 15 years of service the building is performing as expected, with no sign of damage, deterioration or loss of strength.
- completed
- June 2007
- in service, no sign of damage
- 15 years
Products & Applications Used
-
Wet & Dry Layup FRP
Carbon and glass fabric systems for beams, columns, slabs, walls and pipes.
Explore Wet & Dry Layup FRP -
Columns
Strengthen concrete and steel columns for added load, low strength or corrosion.
Explore Columns -
Historic Preservation
FRP that can be painted or coated, so repairs stay out of sight.
Explore Historic Preservation
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Arizona DOT I-17 Bridges, Phoenix
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More Resources for Engineers
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