A supposed structural engineer on a Caribbean island has done some strange work

We are going to need a better explanation. Is he casting that entire thing into concrete? What are the drawings showing?

There is no way we can give proper answers without seeing the bigger picture. It may be that the guy is actually a genius, or a horrid engineer. Without seeing the rest of the intent of the structure, we do not know.

He is casting the entire thing into concrete. The drawings have been modified after discussions by him and the owner changing the plans from concrete posts to I beams. They have not waited for approvals and have started building.
The 900m2 building is divided into two with half having an excavated basement and half at ground level(benched land)
Both halves have 6 butts as shown in the pic laid in auger holes about 4-5 ft deep with smaller ibeams connecting the butts and cast with concrete (with out rebar, just ibeams in concrete). The intent at ground level is to cast a foundation slab of concrete on top of this support.

Not exactly in keeping with the standards I'm used to, and I'd be curious about longevity, but on the whole the theory seems sound. Steel is embedded in the ground (with concrete around it to protect it/strengthen it's embedment) and, presumably, the slab will be poured up to the underside of the plate shown in the picture. That provides a lateral brace across the building (assuming it's detailed and built correctly) providing stability to that connection for the rest of the frame.

Maybe not how I'd do it, but I can see how it could work.

A drawing would help to better understand your situation. However, it does mimic column anchorage that was used in the late 19th/early 20th centuries.

I have more images and videos but unsure how to upload

Look for the following at the bottom of your screen....



Otherwise, if the files are large, can you put them on a sharefile site and then link the URL with the link attachment?

I saw some construction methods and configurations that seemed strange to me when I was in Haiti years ago. Much of it was due to working with what was available. If the structural steel was available and reinforcing steel wasn't at the time, that looks to be a reasonable solution to provide a solid foundation pier. Maybe it was already fabricated, and repurposed for this job.

Rod Smith, P.E., The artist formerly known as HotRod10

If anything seems sketchy about this, it's the contractor's workmanship. How hard is it to center a footing excavation?

(Not saying I could personally do it better, but I also don't advertise my ability to do so and get paid for it...)

Really bad having water sitting in the excavation... I hope he's a little more astute.


Dik