New Nautilus is a lightweighting system made of recycled plastic for cast-in-place reinforced concrete two-way flat slabs. The formwork remains embedded in the concrete pour and allows the creation of a continuous flat slab both above and below the element, generating a grid of orthogonal ribs that replaces traditional drop panels, integrating them within the slab thickness.
The reduction in the slab’s self-weight (up to 25–30% compared to solid slabs) allows significant savings in concrete and reinforcing steel, with benefits extending to columns, shear walls, and foundations. In addition, the lightweighting makes it possible to increase spans and load-bearing capacity without adding beams, improving the static and seismic performance of the entire structure.
Modular, lightweight, and quick to install, Nuovo Nautilus offers designers wide geometric and architectural freedom, making it ideal for large-span slabs and for buildings requiring high levels of structural efficiency, sustainability, and material reduction.
Nautilus enables the construction of high-performance lightweight slabs by creating a two-way ribbed slab with high load-bearing capacity and reduced concrete usage. The reduction in structural mass results in lower seismic forces and allows for more slender foundations.
The system allows up to 30% savings in concrete and up to 15% reduction in steel reinforcement, lightening the slab and improving both economic and environmental efficiency.
Lightweight, modular, and stackable elements ensure fast and safe installation without dedicated equipment, optimizing transport and site logistics.
The system easily adapts to complex, curved, or inclined geometries. Slab thicknesses and configurations can be customized with full freedom in the layout of vertical structural elements. The two-way action of the slab allows the elimination of beams, achieving large spans of up to 20 m and completely flat soffits, ideal for building services and architectural finishes.
The technical team provides assistance from feasibility studies through to detailed design, simplifying the design process and optimizing performance and material use.
Made from 100% recycled polypropylene, the system is EPD-certified and contributes up to 8 LEED credits. It ensures high thermal and acoustic performance and fire resistance up to REI 120, meeting the most advanced standards of sustainable construction.
Nautilus is designed to be fully compliant with structural Eurocodes, ensuring calculation reliability, safety, and international applicability in reinforced concrete structures.
In the calculation of a slab made with NEW NAUTILUS, deformation is the parameter that defines slab thickness and sizing. This value is based on the inertia of the concrete+steel section. By replacing part of the concrete with NEW NAUTILUS formwork voids, the inertia decreases, so an increase of the slab height is recommended (a few cm) to maintain a suitable deformation. However, generally, the reduction of concrete weight and consumption varies between 15 and 20%.
In the calculation of a slab made with NEW NAUTILUS, deformation is the parameter that defines slab thickness and sizing. This value is based on the inertia of the concrete+steel section. By replacing part of the concrete with NEW NAUTILUS formwork voids, the inertia decreases, which lowers the slab self-weight as well. Therefore, the difference in the amount of steel between the traditional solution and the lightened one is small, but will in any case result in a reduction (from 2% to 5%).
