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Torre Mayor
General information
Type	Office
Location	Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City
Construction started	1999
Completed	2003
Owner	George Soros
Height
Antenna spire	230.1 m (755 ft)
Roof	225.4 m (740 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	55
Floor area	84,135 m (905,620 sq ft)
Lifts/elevators	29
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Adamson Associates Architects Zeidler Roberts Partnership IDEA Asociados de los Estados Unidos Méxicanos
Developer	Reichmann International Empresas ICA Sociedad Controladora
Structural engineer	WSP Group
Main contractor	A.D. Tec Gerencia de Construcción
References

The Torre Mayor is a skyscraper in Mexico City, Mexico. With a height of 225 metres (738 feet) to the top floor and 55 storeys, it is the tallest building in Mexico. Until 2010 it was also the tallest building in Latin America, when it was surpassed by the 236 meter (774 ft) ) high Ocean Two in Panama City. Since then, multiple new buildings in Panama City have exceeded it in height and the Gran Torre Santiago in Santiago (Chile) (which is technically the tallest building in Latin America) has topped out at 300 meters (984 ft). In 2003 Torre Mayor surpassed by less than one meter the 225 meter (738 ft) high towers of the Parque Central Complex in Caracas (Venezuela). The Torre Mayor was developed by Canadian businessman Paul Reichmann, who also maintains part ownership. It is also part-owned by a group of institutional investors. The building was designed by the architectural firms of Zeidler Partnership Architects and Executive Architects Adamson Associates Architects, both of Toronto.

Located at Paseo de la Reforma, it was built by Canadian-owned Reichmann International on the former location of the Cine Chapultepec. Construction work began in 1999 and was finished in late 2003. Due to Mexico City's high propensity to earthquakes, the tower incorporates several anti-earthquake measures. Torre Mayor is one of the strongest buildings on Earth in terms of earthquake resistance, being designed to withstand earthquakes measuring 8.5 on the Richter Scale. The U.S. Bank Tower in earthquake prone Los Angeles, California by comparison, is designed to withstand an 8.3 intensity earthquake.

Earthquake resistance

The Torre Mayor stands in the lakebed area where most of the 1985 earthquake damage occurred, It was built with 96 dampers, which work like car shock absorbers to block the resonating effect of the lakebed and its own height. These diamond-shaped dampers are seen architecturally on its perimeter. With this extra bracing, this tower can withstand earthquake forces nearly four times as efficiently as a conventionally damped building. The dampening system proved its worth in January 2003, as a 7.6 earthquake shook the city. Not only did the building survive undamaged, occupants inside at the time did not know a tremor had occurred.

Important details

• In 2003, Mexico City suffered an earthquake of 7.6 degrees on the Richter scale with its epicenter in the state of Colima. The Torre Mayor was not damaged in structure. On April 13 of 2007 endured an earthquake of 6.3 degrees on the Richter scale with its epicenter in the state of Guerrero, on April 27 of 2009 endured an earthquake of 5.7 on the Richter scale with its epicenter in the state of Guerrero, and May 22, 2009, at 14:24, an earthquake of 5.7 on the Richter scale with a duration of 40 seconds, with epicenter in Tehuacán, in the state of Puebla, and a tremor of 6.5 on the scale Richter, lasting 40 seconds, with epicenter in Zumpango del Rio, in the state of Guerrero, on 10 December 2011, on March 20, 2012 endured an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, and 2 April of the same year endured another 6.3 degrees.
• An earthquake measuring 8.5 on the Richter Scale would cause an effect equivalent to 22 mile-per-hour winds.
• The tower has 30,000 m² of glass on the south facade with thermal and acoustic insulation, plus finished marble inside and granite in common areas and hallways. The architecture of the building is contemporary and international quality. It also has three electric power supplies in average voltage, and it is noteworthy that it is the only building in Latin America that feeds energy from three different points of the city.
• It has 29 lifts (elevators) of passengers they reach a maximum advance of 6.7 m/s.
• It is occupied by more than 8,000 people.
• It was built at an average of 4 plants per week, and no workers died during its construction.
• Has record for being the world's only skyscraper in the world that has not had any major accidents or deaths during construction.
• It has the heliport safest and highest on the continent.
• It is in the process to received LEED certification ( Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) from the U.S. Green Building Council with Gold level with 62 points. Expected by the end of May.
• The building has received awards from the IMEI, ADI, AISC, Civil Engineering Research Foundation, CERF and Popular Science Magazine.

Intelligent building

The High Tower elevators have a seismic detector that detects any movement of earth and therefore automatically stops the elevator nearest to allow passengers to get off. Has not yet installed a seismic alarm. The Torre Mayor is administered by the Building Management System (BMS), an intelligent system that controls all facilities and equipment harmoniously and efficiently to protect human life from tenants. In this system are integrated systems: electrical, hidrosanitario, elevators and fire protection and has the ability to control the lighting of the building. It is considered an intelligent building, because the light system is controlled by a system called B3, like that of many other buildings in Mexico City. The floors underground injection machines have fans and fresh air exchange to prevent excessive concentration of pollutants produced by the combustion, connected to intelligent building system. It was the first building in Mexico that meet the mandatory standard for energy efficiency of nonresidential buildings (NOM-008). It has an automatic water saver, and this system is one of the first in Mexico and is considered a green building. It also features automatic elevators, which means it's a smart building and is always on the floors of more influx. The building has an automatic air handler in each level to fill.

Systems

The Torre Mayor has the following systems:

• System generation and distribution of energy saving ice water
• System variable air volume (air units and preparations of high-speed pipeline at every level of office)
• General health extraction system in each office level
• System automatic air ventilation in parking
• Mechanical extraction system garbage room
• Air conditioning system automatic mini-split type for control room, administration, sales and boardroom

References

1. Torre Mayor - The Skyscraper Center
2. Torre Mayor - SkyscraperPage.com
3. "Custom list: tallest buildings of Mexico". The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
4. http://www.emporis.com/building/ocean-two-panama-city-panama
5. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2353
6. http://armstrongpumps.com/Torre_Mayor_Mexico_City_Mexico_en.asp
7. ^ Post, Nadine M. (2003-06-30). "Latin America's Tallest Sports Super-Efficient Damper-Studded Diamonds". Engineering News Record. 250 (25): 34–38. ISSN 0891-9526. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |unused_data= (help)
8. Hardman, Chris (Jul/August 2004). "A Damper on Quakes". Americas. 56 (4): 4. ISSN 0379-0940. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. http://www.emporis.com/building/torremayor-mexicocity-mexico

External links

• Torre Mayor at Structurae
• http://skyscraperpage.com/cities/?buildingID=372
• Torre Mayor web site
• Torre Mayor on Emporis
• WSP Group - project page dedicated to Torre Mayor

• Skyscrapers in Mexico City
• Skyscrapers between 200 and 249 meters
• Office buildings completed in 2003