Lightweight slabs are great for family homes
18 December 2019
The holiday season is a family season. With this in mind we would like to explain how lightweight slabs can benefit families by improving the flexibility of their homes.
Family homes go through several uses as families grow: a couple buys it, then they will have their first child, a second, maybe even a third, then kids will leave and the initial couple remains alone again. Each change requires a change in the home – as children arrive and grow new rooms are needed and their use changed.
If the family home uses lightweight slabs, then less structural walls and columns will be used. This will allow the family to easily change the configuration of rooms by adding or removing non-carrying walls and columns. This will allow them to keep the home while changing its floor plan and use.
Here is how our products are used for the construction of lightweight slabs and the improvement of residential design:
Lightweight concrete slabs allow thinner walls and fewer columns
Lightweight concrete slabs are much lighter than traditional solid slabs, which provides many benefits and new design opportunities. Less concrete in slabs allows lighter overall supporting structure of the building. Voided slabs are suitable for medium to large spans (7 – 12 m), which gives more possibilities for different column arrangements in interior design.
Lightweight structural construction improves open-floor design
Instead of a large column that is necessary to support heavy solid slab, by using lightweight slabs we can design open spaces with more representative function. Smooth finishing surface of lightweight slabs, offers the possibility to expose the slab in the interior, and to have higher ceilings where needed.
Reusable open-space buildings are a better investment
In open space buildings with demountable walls, organization of interior space can easily be adapted to different functions (retail, office, public, etc.), making it more sustainable. An adjustable function means that building can easily adapt to market demands, which can improve ROI for a whole construction project.
Our projects with lightweight slabs:
Vadikoru residential and business complex, Istanbul, Turkey
Varyant Tower, Bornova, İzmir
Duale Hochschule, Stuttgart
Le Nuage, Montpellier, France
Centre de formation et de recherche d’Europe EDF, Saclay
