FOCSA Building

The FOCSA Building (built in 1956 and named after the contracting company, Fomento de Obras y Construcciones, Sociedad Anónima) is, at 121 metres high,[1] the tallest building in Cuba,[2] located in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana. It is considered one of the seven wonders of Cuban civil engineering.[citation needed] Its construction took about 2 years and 4 months. At completion in 1956 it was considered a national sensation due to its modern technology and it signalled the start of a wave of construction of tall buildings in Havana.

In an era when concrete construction of buildings more than 18 storeys tall was considered unaffordable, the FOCSA was only the second project of its kind in the world. The project was managed by engineer, Luis Sáenz Duplace; the architect was Ernesto Gómez Sampera (1921–2004), who later moved to Puerto Rico where he worked until his death in 2004.

Layout

View from the bar-restaurant "La Torre", on the FOCSA's 33rd floor.

The building is 121 m high, consists of 39 floors, 9 of which were dedicated to commercial purposes and the other 30 floors for residential use with a total of 373 apartments with views of the sea and the Malecón (of which 7 are penthouses and 2 are duplexes). There is a 500-car parking area in four levels, a swimming pool and a club, among other facilities.

There are three main sections:

The ground floor, which includes a restaurant "El Emperador", cafeterias, shops, a theater, offices and radio and television studios. The provincial administrative offices for radio, as well as the stations COCO and Radio Metropolitana are also there. Originally the ground floor also included a pharmacy, a Post office and a Bank

the 39-floor tower

the restaurant "La Torre", on the 33rd floor with a spectacular 360 degree view of the city below

Typical floors contain 13 apartments, 5 of which have 3 bedrooms and an auxiliary maid's room; and 8 of 2 bedrooms with an auxiliary room. The basic cost of the apartments was $21,500 for the larger units and $17,500 for the smaller ones. It was stipulated that an additional $30 per each floor was charged the higher the unit was located and the highest apartments were the first that were sold.

location

Eating a block bordered by Calles 17, 19, M and N in Vedado

construction

The Focsa building was originally constructed to house offices Radio CMQ dan jaringan TV, Companies Fomento de Hipotecas Aseguradas (FHA) financed 80% of the cost of homes and 60% of the stores. El Banco Continental Cubano was given credit of 6 million pesos.

Work began in February 1954 and was completed in June 1956. When completed it is the second largest concrete building in the world, second only to Bangunan Martinelli in São Paulo , Brasil,

The Focsa.

The building is chosen in February 1997 by the Unión Nacional de Arquitectos e Ingenieros de la Construcción de Cuba (UNAICC) as one of the seven wonders of Cuban civil engineering

history

In the early 1960s middle-class owners of residential and commercial owners downstairs unit had their properties nationalized by the government today. In the 1970s the building housed the former Soviet and Eastern bloc specialists and advisers and supermarket stores that land only non-Cuban. [5] In 2000 the elevator cable snapped, killing one person. In the 2000s (decade) the building was painted and remodeled. After the renovation of many buildings that have been submitted for the temporary housing of foreign guest workers, mainly from Venezuela