Havanna city seawall: The Malecón in Havana, Cuba (workplan)

Havanna city seawall: The Malecón in Havana, Cuba (workplan)

Veenstra, E.
Versmissen, K.
Meijer, M.
Muilwijk, M.
Groenendaal, E.

Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Hydraulic Engineering

2003-02-01

Havana City is situated on the north coast of the Republic of Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean Sea. Because of Spanish and African influences Havana is one of the most picturesque cities of the western hemisphere. In the 18* and 19* century a part of the city that lies adjacent to the sea, the Malecón, has developed until today into a beautiful boulevard with a great historic and cultural value and acts at the same time as coastal protection. After a lack of maintenance for more than 40 years, the Malecón area is getting a revitalization project. From here on we will only look at the seawall part of the Malecón, that is taking care of the coastal protection. The main problem is that the Malecón is frequently overtopped by waves and occasionally flooded due to bad weather in the Gulf of Mexico. To solve this problem we will develop a solution in cooperation with the Havana University and the Hydraulic Investigation Centre, that prevents future inundation and wave overtopping, while maintaining the environmental, historic and cultural value of the Malecón area. The solution can be onshore al well as offshore and has to fit in the local situation and Cuban possibilities as much as possible. To develop a solution for the flooding problem we have to go through a whole design process. First we will gather information in the Netherlands especially from international resources about the marine climate, wave statistics and oceanography, because that kind of information is not available in Cuba. The information collection will proceed in Havana at the University and the Hydraulic Investigation Centre. The most important information we have to look for is about morphology, marine climate, information about the Malecón, wave information, construction methods and available materials. After collecting all data and information the Program of Demands can be formulated. First we will review the investigated solutions already made by the Hydraulic Investigation Centre. The review will be done on three levels: the design process, assumptions and calculations. After the review, new solutions will be developed or existing ones will be improved. With the Program of Demands the best alternative can be picked. This definite design will be worked out in detail: dimensions and materials, a cost estimation and a timetable of the different construction phases. This whole design process will be documented in a report.

Habana
Cuba
seawall

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TU Delft, Department Hydraulic Engineering

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© 2003 Authors