Hotel Riu Plaza Guadalajara

Hotel Riu Plaza Guadalajara is a skyscraper hotel located in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. At 204-metre tall (669 ft),^[2] it is the city and metropolitan area's tallest building and the twelfth highest in Mexico to date.

Hotel Riu Plaza Guadalajara
General information
Status	Completed
Type	Hotel
Location	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Coordinates	20°39′55.97″N 103°23′37.44″W
Construction started	March 2009
Completed	2011
Opening	June 2011
Cost	US$ 110 million
Height
Antenna spire	204 metres (669 ft)[1]
Roof	189.2 metres (621 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	42
Floor area	8,190 square metres (88,200 sq ft)
Design and construction
Structural engineer	Ingeniería Básica Diseño Estructural S.A. de C.V.
Main contractor	Montecarlo Construcción y Mobiliario S.A. de C.V.

Construction began in March 2009, although there were no signs of the construction starting officially until September or October of the same year, and opened in June 2011. It has 42 habitable floors, holding 550 rooms, in addition to restaurants, meeting rooms and a 44th floor penthouse. On the roof is a heliport and maintenance rooms. A pinnacle rises above the top floor by adding 16 metres (52 ft) to the building height.

Construction history

Its construction involved deep excavation, producing three basement floors and the foundation. Around the excavation was a retaining wall. This wall was made with steel and shotcrete. For its part the foundation account employed 113 piles of 0.6 to 2 metres (2 ft 0 in to 6 ft 7 in) in diameter buried at a depth of between 10 and 15 metres (33 and 49 ft).

The area where this building stands is 8,190.99 square metres (88,167.1 sq ft). The main materials were concrete, steel and glass. Its structure has columns and floor made from reinforced concrete and steel facade is formed of glass.

The Hotel is the second hotel in the chain built in a city, while others are beach resorts. The first of these was built in Panama.

Fire

On February 16, 2011, the hotel suffered two fires on floors 11 and 24, caused by an explosion in a LPG tank. Two workers were confirmed dead and 16 injured. Work on the hotel closed indefinitely, but wasn’t cancelled, as it was finished and opened months later. The fire did not damage the building's structure.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Mexico