FR2675186A1 - Method for construction, and installation on water, of a building for industrial, commercial or residential purposes - Google Patents

Abstract

The building comprises a structure (1, 6) supported by at least one support (8; 8') anchored in the bed of the stretch of water. The structure comprises an infrastructure (1) in the form of an at least partially submerged box, and a superstructure (6) supported by this box, areas (41 to 48, 61 to 64) being distributed in the superstructure and in the infrastructure, the box additionally comprising ballasting compartments (51, 52). Application to the construction of a town on water, in a coastal area.

Description

 The present invention relates to a process for the construction and installation on water of a building for industrial, commercial or residential use, as well as to a building resulting from the implementation of this process. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process allowing, by the juxtaposition of such buildings, the realization of urban agglomerations at sea, near the coast for example.

 A known solution for constructing structures in such an environment consists in constructing on embankments deposited at sea until their upper surface is out of water. Another solution is to build on stilts.

 Construction on embankments is no longer suitable in the coastal area when, as is the case in France, the regulations today provide that a structure at sea in this area, must be designed so as not to modify the currents local, so as not to cause changes in the profile of the coast or phenomena of erosion and / or new deposits. In addition, it is often asked that the construction process used does not involve dredging or rock eroding.

 Construction on stilts is only conceivable on shallow bottoms (less than 20-25 m) and when these stilts only have to support light loads.

 However, plans are currently being made to install heavy constructions at sea, such as apartment buildings, commercial or industrial buildings, rocket launching bases, nuclear power stations, etc.

 The present invention therefore aims to provide a method of construction and installation on water of a building for industrial, commercial or residential use, applicable in the coastal area and therefore in accordance with the regulations concerning the construction of works in this space.

 The present invention also aims to provide such a method suitable for the construction of structures subjected to heavy loads, implantable on funds of depths greater than those achieved in the prior art.

 The present invention also aims to provide such a method applicable to the construction on water of an entire village or town.

 These objects of the invention are achieved, as well as others which will appear on reading the description which follows, with a method of construction and installation on water of a building for industrial, commercial or commercial use. dwelling, process according to which a concrete structure is constructed comprising an infrastructure and a superstructure, the infrastructure taking the form of a box suitable for ensuring the buoyancy of the structure, premises being distributed in the two parts of the structure, tow it on site and ballast compartments provided in the box to place the structure by gravity on at least one support preinstalled in a submerged position, anchored to the bottom of the water.

 By assembling such structures according to a pre-established urban planning scheme, it is thus possible to install on the water a village or an entire city, near the coast for example, to increase the accommodation capacity.

 According to the invention also, the support of the structure is constructed in a dry dock, in a horizontal position, this support comprising means suitable for ensuring its buoyancy in this position, the support is put in the water, it is towed on site and it is ballasted by retaining it by one end so that it pivots around this end, straightening up and then landing by gravity on the seabed, in a predetermined upright position.

 Such supports receive the structure in a semi-submerged position while not posing significant obstacles to the flow of currents.

 The method according to the invention makes it possible to produce a building on water, consisting of a structure carried by at least one support anchored in the bottom of the water, said structure comprising a box-shaped infrastructure at least partially submerged and a superstructure carried by this box, premises being distributed in the superstructure and at least part of the box, the latter further comprising ballast compartments.

 Thus, thanks to the invention, the box comprises means ensuring its buoyancy, ballasting means and premises, technical or residential, which then give it a triple function. Thus, premises in the caisson can be used for parking uses for vehicles belonging to people housed in apartments on the water, built in the superstructure.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear on reading the description which follows and on examining the appended drawing in which
FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate different successive stages of the method of construction and installation of buildings on water according to the invention,
FIGS. 5 to 8 illustrate various successive stages in the construction and installation in water of a concrete support intended to receive a concrete structure of a building according to the invention,
FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic elevation view of a building according to the invention, carried by a metal support, and
- Figure 10 shows, in vertical section, the detail of the support means formed on the support of Figure 9 to receive the concrete structure of the building according to the invention.

 Reference is made to FIGS. 1 to 4 of the appended drawing to describe the stages of the construction and installation process according to the invention. In FIG. 1, the dry construction of a box 1, made of reinforced concrete for example, has been schematized in a dry dock or a form of refit 2 isolated from water 3. The box shown is seen in vertical section, this section showing different compartments referenced 41 to 48 and 51t52 respectively. The box 1 constitutes the infrastructure of a complete reinforced concrete structure comprising a superstructure 6 built on the upper face of the box 1 (see FIG. 2).

 According to a first implementation of the method according to the invention, the superstructure 6 is built on the box 1 while the latter is in the form of refit 2.

 According to a second, preferred implementation of the method according to the invention, the box 1 is launched (see FIG. 2) after construction, and the superstructure 6 is then built on the box floating in water and docked at the quay. The whole structure having a draft greater than that of the box alone, this second procedure makes it possible to use, for the construction of the box, a shape whose depth is less than that which would be necessary for setting water, in this form, of the whole structure.

 After launching, the structure is pulled by a tug 7 (Figure 3) to the site where supports 8 have been previously installed suitable for receiving the structure (see Figure 4).

 The supports 8 shown in Figure 4 are constituted by a conventional gravity structure in reinforced or prestressed concrete, the manufacturing and installation process is known in the art. This process consists in that the support (8) is constructed in a dry dock in a vertical position, this support comprising means suitable for ensuring its buoyancy in this position, the support is put in the water, it is towed on site and the ballast by water to place it by gravity on the seabed in a predetermined upright position.

 According to the invention, the structure being positioned above the supports 8, compartments 51r 52 are then filled with ballast from the box 1 with water so as to control the descent and positioning of the structure on the supports 8. When that -this rests on the supports, the weight of the structure can be increased by the addition of a solid ballast such as heavy materials, sand, gravel, etc ... to ensure the stability of the structure on its supports in phase operational.

Coupling means (not shown) can be provided between structure and supports to ensure the fixing of the structure on the supports, this fixing being able to be made final by injections of cement in these means, as is well known in the art .

 The structure thus installed then comprises an emerged superstructure 6 formed on a box 1 constituting a partially submerged infrastructure.

 According to 1 invention, the superstructure can be made up of storied premises for industrial, commercial or residential use while the box 1 itself contains both such premises (referenced 41 to 48 in Figures 1, 2 and 4) and 51t52 compartments designed to be ballasted by water during the descent of the structure on the supports 8 and by solid ballast after the installation of the structure on these supports.

 Thus, the interior volume of the box is organized in a rational manner, capable of ensuring the necessary buoyancy of the structure, the ballasting of this structure and the arrangement of premises possibly complementary to those provided in superstructure. By way of example, apartment floors 61 to 64 (see FIG. 4) can constitute the main part of the premises built in the superstructure 6 while vehicle parking spaces are arranged in rooms 41 to 48 built in the box, for use by apartment residents. Of course other premises, technical or professional, can be fitted in the box.

 We understand that a modular construction of buildings according to the invention, then installed on the water according to a pre-established urban planning scheme, makes it possible to create from scratch, a village or a city constituting for example an extension of a space coast to which this village or this aquatic city can be attached by a road link, for example. Such a road connection could be established on a device for protecting the village or the city against swell, such as that described in French patent application No. 91 00361 filed on January 15, 1991 by the applicant.

 Referring now to Figures 5 to 8 of the accompanying drawing which show schematically the various successive stages of a variant construction and installation of a support for the building shown in Figure 4. According to the invention, the 8 'dry support, in a dry dock or a refit form 2'. The support comprises a slender frustoconical part 9 which projects beyond a base 10, the assembly being constructed in a lying position, as shown in FIG. 5. The support is constructed of reinforced concrete so as to have sufficient buoyancy in this position , after launching (figure 6) and towing to a site (figure 7) where this support must be installed.

According to the invention, one end 10 of the support is connected by slings 11 to a crane head 12, which will be used to control the descent and positioning of the support in its final location on the bottom 13. Adequate ballasting of compartments provided in the base 10 of the support for example, then makes it possible to pivot this support in the direction of the arrow F in FIG. 7 so that the support straightens up in a vertical position at the end of the slings 11. The support is then lowered towards the bottom 13 using the crane 12. Ballasting with heavy materials can possibly ensure the stability of the support on the bottom 13. The support can be permanently fixed on this bottom using driven piles 14, as it is well known in the art. We can thus assemble several supports 8 ', in a square or rectangular plane, to receive a structure according to the invention.

 As a variant, the structure 1, 6 can rest on one or more metal supports (see FIG. 9) rather than on concrete supports. FIG. 9 shows such a metal support 8 '' conventionally constituted by a lattice of tubes or beams, constituting a frame fixed to the bottom 13 by driven piles, for example. FIG. 10 shows the detail of a support link 15 surrounded by a circle in FIG. 9.

 The support 8 "comprising for example tubular members 16 fixed by driven piles 17, there is according to the invention an intermediate piece 18 slidingly mounted in each member 16. It is thus possible to adjust the level of the head 20 of the sliding piece 18 , shims 23 being interposed between the head 20 and the upper end of the member 16. A cement grout 22 is injected into the member 16 around the part 18 to ensure the connection of the part 18 with the member 16. On has supports 21, in neoprene for example, to receive the structure (1,6). Thanks to these adjustable support means, it is possible according to the invention, to ensure the stability of the box on several adjacent supports, absorbing possible differences in height from the upper ends of the support members.

 Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown which have been given only by way of example. Thus buildings according to the invention can be installed not only in the coastal area but also in the lake area. The invention is not limited to the construction of apartment buildings and extends to any building constructed on lakes or seas for various reasons, rocket launching bases, nuclear power plants to be moved away from inhabited areas for security reasons for example, etc ... etc ...

 It is also understood that the invention possibly makes it possible, in its application to the construction of aquatic cities, to reconfigure the city by detaching the buildings from their support by increasing their buoyancy and by rearranging them according to another urban planning scheme.

Claims (12)

 1. A method of construction and installation on water of a building for industrial, commercial or residential use, characterized in that a concrete structure is constructed comprising an infrastructure (1) and a superstructure (6) , the infrastructure taking the form of a box suitable for ensuring the buoyancy of the structure and of the premises being distributed in the two parts of the structure, it is towed on site and ballast compartments (5,, 5, ) provided in the box to place the structure by gravity on at least one support (8; 8 '; 8 ") preinstalled in a submerged position, anchored to the bottom of the water.  2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least the infrastructure (1) is constructed in a dry dock or a form of refit.  3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the infrastructure (1) is put in the water and then the superstructure (6) is built on the infrastructure.  4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the structure is placed on its support (8; 8 '; 8 ") by ballasting with water and the position of the structure on its support with a solid ballast.  5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the support (8 ') is constructed in a dry dock in a horizontal position, this support comprising means suitable for ensuring its buoyancy in this position, we put the batten support, we tow it on site, we ballast it by retaining it by one end so that it pivots around this end while straightening, we then put it on the seabed in a predetermined upright position.  6. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the support is fixed to the bottom using beaten piles (14).  7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the support (8) is constructed in a dry dock in a vertical position, this support comprising means suitable for ensuring its buoyancy in this position, puts the support in the water, tows it on site and ballasts it with water to place it by gravity on the seabed in a predetermined upright position.  8. Building installed according to the method according to claim 1, consisting of a structure (1,6) carried by at least one support (8; 8 '; 8 ") anchored in the bottom of the water, characterized in that that said structure (1,6) comprises an infrastructure (1) in the form of a box at least partially submerged and a superstructure (6) carried by this box, premises (41 to 48,61 to 64) being distributed in the infrastructure and the superstructure, the infrastructure box further comprising ballasting compartments (5).  9. Building according to claim 8, characterized in that the structure rests on at least one support (8; 8 ') of concrete anchored on the bottom of the water.  10. Building according to claim 8, characterized in that the structure rests on at least one metal support (8 ") anchored on the bottom of the water.  11. Building according to claim 10, characterized in that the structure rests on several supports (15) each disposed between the base of the box (1) and an intermediate piece (18) slidably mounted in the frame (16) of the metal support (8 '), the sliding part (18) being immobilized in a final support position by a cement grout (22) injected into the frame around the intermediate part (18).  12. Building according to claim 11, characterized in that wedges (23) are arranged between the frame (16) and the sliding part (18) to adjust the height of this part and thus allow the leveling of the supports on which rests the structure.