Structural Analysis of "La Giralda", Bell Tower of the Seville Cathedral

Abstract

La Giralda is a tall bell tower, an icon of Seville, the city where it stands. It was built in the 12th century using brick and then modified and increased in the 16th century to reach its current height: more than 90 meters. This height and its other geometric characteristics, together with its resistance to all external agents suffered for more than four centuries (especially earthquakes) make La Giralda an interesting monument on a structural level. For this reason, this article studies and analyzes the structural capacity of this monument from the current engineering vision: a geometric analysis is carried out, an analysis of the foundation is highlighted, a gravitational structural analysis (own weight) is carried out, a third-party analysis is carried out, and fourth are structural analyzes against wind and earthquake. This fourfold analysis will allow a better understanding of the structural functioning of the monument as a whole and its survival after so many years.