Completion of First Base-Isolated Building Designed and Constructed by Takenaka as an Overseas Project〜Application of Mid-Story Base Isolation System in the New Office Building at Bridgestone’s Karawang Plant in Indonesia〜

Takenaka Corporation (President: Masahiro Miyashita) has completed construction of a mid-story base isolation system (column capital base isolation) in a new office building at the Bridgestone Group’s, Karawang Plant in Indonesia. It is the first application of a base isolation system in an overseas project designed and executed by Takenaka Corporation.
Most of corporate function operation at this new office building has begun from August 2018.

In response to continuous economic growth and social progress at earthquake regions such as Indonesia, Taiwan, Turkey and elsewhere, disaster prevention has now become a challenge. Under such circumstances, this project is considered to be a first step in the global spread of base isolation technology based on Takenaka’s abundant domestic experience in this field. By taking advantage of Takenaka’s integrated engineering capability, the local conditions were successfully adapted into the design with high quality of execution.

In this project a mid-story base isolation was realized by installing seismic isolation bearing on top of columns at a first basement parking space in order to meet the customer’s need of parking space for employees and visitors on a limited site area in Indonesia, a country where motorization is advancing. The base isolation layer, which is usually an unused space, will be utilized as automobile parking space.

In Japan, currently there are about 4,100 base-isolated buildings excluding detached homes (from The Japan Society of Seismic Isolation, end of 2015). Takenaka, which is a leader in base isolation projects, has undertaken seismic diagnoses of existing buildings at overseas locations of Japanese companies. Moreover, Takenaka has conducted technical seminars about Japanese earthquake prevention systems and solutions to universities and construction-related companies in Southeast Asia and Turkey. It will continue to strengthen its ability to realize buildings incorporating vibration control or base isolation technologies for both Japanese and non-Japanese clients with the aim of expanding its design and engineering services to contribute to the safety of buildings around the world.

In this project a mid-story base isolation was realized by installing seismic isolation bearing on top of the columns of a first basement parking area to prevent impact of the structure on nearby automobiles and people when the superstructure moves during an earthquake. Takenaka installed 51 high-damping rubber bearings made by Bridgestone so that dampers are not needed to absorb seismic energy.

When a base-isolated building is constructed, it is extremely important to ensure a precise execution of seismic isolation bearing installation and concrete filling efficiency. Considering the execution environment and Takenaka’s local experience at the site, the best materials were selected for the most suitable execution method, repeated trials were conducted in cooperation with a local company, and steel forms were used. In addition, on-site precast products were applied to ensure high-quality execution and perform the work efficiently.