Case Study: Sheraton Hotel, Bilbao, Spain

Case study: Sheraton hotel, Bilbao, Spain

SP004a-EN-EU

The new hotel of the Sheraton-Starwood company is located on the same bank of the
Bilbao river as the Guggenheim museum. The hotel was designed by the prestigious
Mexican Architect Ricardo Legorreta, who was inspired by the works of the Basque
sculptor Eduardo Chillida. Legorreta worked in collaboration with the local architectural
firm Aurtenechea & Pérez-Iriondo. The building was constructed between June 2001 and
December 2003.
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Sheraton hotel, Bilbao.
Contents
1. The Achievement 2
2. Client’s View 3
3. The Architect’s View 5
4. The Engineer’s View 9
5. Project team 12
Created on Monday, November 19, 2007
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1. The Achievement
20 000 m2 multi-storey luxury hotel in Bilbao: 11 above-ground storeys of 13 000 m2
floor area: and 4 below ground floors of 7 000 m2 floor area.
211 rooms: one presidential suite, 20 suites and 190 double rooms.
1 100 tonnes of structural steelwork were used in the form of I and H sections, tubes and
plates.
Only 7 months for the erection of the steel structure.
The Sheraton hotel has a high level of building services comprising:
Full air conditioning system in all rooms and in common areas, and radiant flooring
in the atrium.
Architectural design for optimised energy requirements, such as natural cooling,
solar gains or natural daylight.
Emergency electric power plant for essential facilities, such as the fire protection,
safety and UPS-supported computer network installations.
Optical fibre voice and data networks to all rooms.
Fire detection and extinguishing network, backed up by a computerized management

system that enables the fire to be located immediately.
Advanced Smoke Control systems and safe means of egress in fire.
A night time view of the hotel and its visual impact is presented in Figure 1.1.
Figure 1.1 Night view of the Sheraton hotel.
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2. Client’s View
Jon Azcorra, HOTEL ABANDOIBARRA III MILENIO, S.L.
At the start of this project, the owner, Hotel Abandoibarra III Milenio S.L., wished to
commission the most qualified professionals and to design using the best possible materials.
After the overall architectural design had been completed, it was necessary to choose both the
materials and construction procedure for the optimum construction of the building structure.
A primary steel framed structure was chosen for the 11 storeys above ground and
4 underground storeys. The design also had to take into account the intended use for the
different floors.
A total floor area of 13 000 m2 comprises the rooms, meeting rooms, atrium, reception, bar
and restaurant. These are the areas where more work and time were needed for finishing and
decoration tasks. It was also necessary to take into account other factors such as a large
central atrium that was required to be supported by beams, themselves supported by the steel
structure of the upper floors. This increased the complexity of the building structure.
For the construction of the below-ground floors, a “top-down” construction system was
adopted. This procedure permitted construction of the underground and over-ground floors at
the same time.
The structural solution was a steel framework with floors using in-situ concrete. The use of a
steel structure provided many advantages in terms of the construction programme and
efficiency, as follows:
More versatility in the structural fabrication and erection,

Faster construction, on site, assisted by the "top-down" method of below-ground
construction,
Better control of the construction programme,
Less area occupied by columns and beams in the structure,
Better control of construction costs.
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Figure 2.1 Reduction of construction time and versatility to meet architectural requirements
using a primary steel frame and pre-fabricated cladding panels .
“…From the beginning, the building process of the new Hotel Sheraton was particularly
respectful to the location: the Sheraton hotel is placed on the site of the Euskalduna
shipyards…
And as a tribute to steel, the entire hotel structure is in steel, rising to 55 metres at its highest
point and comprising 1 200 tonnes of S355 steel. This enabled the builders to create a smaller
and more efficient structure and make a better and more effective use of the building
“footprint”.
From the publication “Sheraton Bilbao Hotel”, Bilbao 2004. Published by Hotel Abandoibarra
III Milenio, S.L.
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3. The Architect’s View

Figure 3.1 Main entrance façade elevation view.
Cristina Pérez-Iriondo, AURTENECHEA & PÉREZ-IRIONDO.
The new hotel of the Sheraton-Starwood company is located on the same side of the
Bilbao River as the Guggenheim Museum. The hotel was designed by the prestigious
Mexican Architect Ricardo Legorreta who was inspired by the works of the Basque sculptor
Eduardo Chillida. The building is treated like a huge block of stone with numerous openings
providing light into the interior. Ricardo Legorreta worked in collaboration with the
architectural firm Aurtenechea & Perez-Iriondo. A view of the completed building is shown
in Figure 3.1, and the architectural design concept is illustrated in Figure 3.2.
The project was carried out from June 2001 to December 2003 including both below-ground
and above-ground work.
Ricardo and Victor Legorreta were responsible not only for the basic design but also for the
structural concept, interior decoration and overall supervision of the project. The practice,
Aurtenechea & Pérez-Iriondo adapted the project to satisfy the national regulations,
construction management and coordination between the building contractor and the client.
Cristina Pérez-Iriondo, from Aurtenechea & Pérez-Iriondo gives her view as to the advantages
of the steel structure chosen for this project:
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TIME REDUCTION: control of the construction period and reduction in time on site
were crucial to the overall success, because of their influence on the overall costs and the
need to meet the programme commitments. The choice of the “top-down” construction
method for the steel structure meant that the 11 above-ground levels could be constructed
in 7 months. In this way, the works related to cladding and service integration could be
carried out in parallel from an early stage.
SMALLER SECTIONS OF STRUCTURAL MEMBERS: the smaller dimensions of
steel members, such as the columns, permitted their integration in the architecture,
whenever necessary. For example, façade columns were incorporated within the depth of
the cladding, and are therefore not visible externally or internally.
STRUCTURAL FLEXIBILITY: the chosen structural system, steel columns and
reinforced concrete floors, provided adaptability for service integration (active fire
protection measures, air conditioning, WI-FI, phone networks, etc.).
SLAB DEPTH REDUCTION: in certain areas, a composite floor system (steel beams
and composite slab) was used in highly serviced zones. This permitted reduced floor
depths and optimized the installation of service equipment below the floor.
Figure 3.2 South façade elevation view drawing.
The plan layout is trapezoidal in form with an open atrium. The atrium extends from the
ground floor to the eighth floor, where it finishes with a vaulted roof. All the facilities are
distributed around the atrium, with the restaurant and bar on the ground floor, the meeting
rooms on the first floor and the rooms in the upper floors. The plan forms at the ground level
and first to third floors are illustrated in Figure 3.3 and Figure 3.4. To increase the spatial
richness, the swimming pool, the sport centre and the internet lounge are located at the sixth
storey with a large window facing the mountains nearby.
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Figure 3.3 Ground level plan view.

Figure 3.4 First, second and third floor plan view.

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Figure 3.5
Steel structure for the elevators in the atrium.

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4. The Engineer’s View

Manfred Petersen, ESTEYCO.
The structural engineer had to design a practical and sensible structure for a complicated
architectural design that was not conceived with the structural design in mind. For example,
the enormous entrance hall had to be enclosed by massive beams, from which several floors
had to be suspended.
A precast concrete solution for the main structure was not considered to be practical, because
of the irregular geometry. Steel was chosen as the structural framework because of its
flexibility to satisfy the complex architectural design. It was also possible to adapt the steel
structure to suit later architectural modifications. The floor slabs were cast in reinforced
concrete. The steel structure is shown in Figure 4.1.
Figure 4.1 View showing the steel structure for the atrium area and bracing system.
The long life of the structure was achieved by providing adequate painting and fire protection.
The structural solution is briefly explained below by the Engineer Manfred Petersen:
The building was constructed by the “top-down” system:
First, the 30 m deep and 1 m thick diaphragm walls were installed.

Later, these walls were braced at the floor levels by the four basement slabs.
From the ground level, piles of 1.3 to 2 m diameter were bored and concrete poured up to
the level of the lowest basement floor. In these piles, steel columns with cross or hollow
section were embedded, connected by shear connectors, and projecting up to the ground
level. The below-ground structure is shown in Figure 4.2.
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The ground floor slab was cast and the columns and beams of the upper floors could be
installed.
After the construction of the main building, the earth below the ground level was
excavated, the basement floors constructed and the steel columns encased in reinforced
concrete.
Key:
1 – Stud shear connectors
2 – Vertical rebars
3 – Elevation of pile foundations
4 – Details of encased columns
5 – Details of steel box columns
Figure 4.2 Construction details of the columns under the ground level.
The framework of the building was designed with steel beams and columns that support an
in-situ reinforced concrete floor of 300 mm depth. The reinforced concrete slabs, with spans
of up to 10 m, are connected to the main steel columns either by steel cantilevers or by steel
beams that act compositely with the slab by means of shear connectors.
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Key:
1 – Beam elevation
2 – Beam cross-section
3 – Shear connectors
4 – Column
5 – Beam
Figure 4.3 Composite beam with shear connectors. Column connection at 9 m above ground.
The connection between the steel elements was mostly made by on-site welding, as is usual in
Spain.
It is interesting to note that up to five floors are suspended from large steel beams in the
interior of the hall, which cross the central open space. Firstly, the vertical structure had to be
erected in order to install the main beams across the hall, then the steel hangers could be fixed
and the lower beams, which support the slabs, were connected to the hangers. The steel
trusses of the atrium structure are shown in Figure 4.4.
Figure 4.4 Erection of trusses over the atrium structure
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5. Project team
Client, project management
and coordination: Hotel Abandoibarra III Milenio, S.L.
Architect: Legorreta + Legorreta
Associated architects: Aurtenechea & Pérez-Iriondo Arquitectos Asociados, S.L.
Structural Engineer: ESTEYCO
Constructor: FONORTE
Steel structure: TAUXME and Laminados Velasco
Foundations: Cimentaciones Abando
Services engineering: Aguilera Ingenieros, S.A.
The collaboration of the following persons in providing photographs, pictures drawings and
contributions is acknowledged.
Jon AZCORRA, HOTEL ABANDOIBARRA III MILENIO, S.L.

Cristina PEREZ-IRIONDO, AURTENECHEA & PEREZ-IRIONDO.
Manfred PETERSEN, ESTEYCO.
Pedro AGUILERA, AGUILERA INGENIEROS
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Quality Record
RESOURCE TITLE Sheraton hotel Bilbao (SPAIN)
Reference(s)
ORIGINAL DOCUMENT
Name Company Date
Created by José A. CHICA LABEIN

Francisco REY LABEIN
Technical content checked by Jon AZCORRA. HOTEL ABANDOIBARRA

III MILENIO, S.L.
Cristina PEREZ- AURTENECHEA &

IRIONDO. PEREZ-IRIONDO.
Manfred PETERSEN. ESTEYCO.
Pedro AGUILERA AGUILERA INGENIEROS
Editorial content checked by

Technical content endorsed by the

following STEEL Partners:
1. UK G W Owens SCI 2/11/05
2. France A Bureau CTICM 2/11/05
3. Sweden A Olsson SBI 2/11/05
4. Germany C Müller RWTH 2/11/05
5. Spain J Chica Labein 2/11/05
6. Luxembourg M Haller PARE 2/11/05
Resource approved by Technical G W Owens SCI 21/04/06

Coordinator
TRANSLATED DOCUMENT
This Translation made and checked by:
Translated resource approved by:

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