Originally constructed between 1958 and 1961, Felix Candela and Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe designed the corporate office building, bottling plant and ageing cellars of Bacardi & Co.

Structure

The original cover of the bottler was composed of three vaults hypars, adjacent edges of 4 cm thick and 2.50 m roof blown from the sides. Four skylights fill the gaps between adjacent tanks and end of squaring the structure but do not provide sufficient support for the shell of roofs.

Bacardi shells are not in direct contact with the foundation, each of the four corners is supported by a leg that transfers the loads from the vaults to the foundation, which in turn download the weight vertically on the ground. Steel loops to connect the foundation can withstand the horizontal forces, these braces are completely hidden from view.

Candela used V-beam in all its vaults. Additionally placed reinforcements on the edges which allows the thickness of the shell is expressed fully.

The arches are located directly on the glass walls to ensure that in case of unexpected wind loads of the shell is sufficiently rigid as to not allow the movement of the crystals. Similarly, the frames of the reinforcing ribs of the skylights are fixed to the arches that surround them.

Construction

The three domes of the plant were built at the same time and to save costs Candela appealed hyperbolic parabolic form as it allows the use of a straight formwork.

Although tensions in the shells are small and the steel reinforcement was not necessary, it was used for constructive reasons, to hold wet concrete in place on steep surfaces and to address other practical issues such as the effects of temperature changes.

This site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on November 20, 2001 in the Cultural category.