MADRID, Spain.- The Focsa Building, one of the seven wonders of Cuban civil engineering, was built in just 28 months (from 1954 to 1956) and without the use of cranes. With its 37 floors and 121 meters high, it marked the beginning of the era of Havana’s tall buildings and became the second tallest concrete construction of the time, only surpassed by the Martinelli Building, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Located in the capital’s El Vedado neighborhood, it was conceived as a home for the workers of the then Cuban radio and television network CMQ, which was located in the nearby Radiocentro building, current headquarters of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television (ICRT).
Based on the ideas of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, the Focsa was intended to be a kind of city within the city, so the project, in addition to almost 400 apartments, had garages, a supermarket, shops, restaurants, a pharmacy… Some are still maintain, although far from the original quality. They are also located in the building Officesa bank, a CADECA establishment, a pharmacy, a post office and the Teatro Guiñol, among others.
For its construction, subsoil studies, geological studies, wells, compression tests and direct load on the ground were carried out; as well as the importance of light and ventilation was taken into account.
Leading the project were the Cuban architect Ernesto Gómez Sampera and the Spanish engineer Luis Sáenz Duplace.
Fomento de Hipotecas Aseguradas (FHA) financed 80% of the cost of the homes and 60% of the commercial premises and Banco Continental Cubano granted a loan of 6 million pesos for its execution.
The name of the building corresponds to the initials of the company Fomento de Obras y Construcciones Sociedad Anónima.
After January 1959, many of the owners left the country after losing their homes due to the nationalization established by Fidel Castro. Some of these apartments began to be used as shelters for foreign technicians, accommodation for scholarship holders, and stays for Latin American patients, among others.
In 1997 the National Union of Architects and Construction Engineers of Cuba (UNAICC) selected the FOCSA building as one of the Seven Wonders of Cuban Civil Engineering.
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