PCE's hyTower® offsite engineered HybriDfMA solution
hyTower® Design of 14 storey Whitechapel Project
Detailed design is underway for PCE Ltd’s hyTower® offsite engineered HybriDfMA solution for property developer Regal London’s 14 storey Aparthotel in Whitechapel, London.
PCE’s hyTower® design and build system utilises a ‘kit of parts’ approach allowing for the best selection of different structural materials to be mostly manufactured offsite to ensure maximum structural efficiency thus providing the client with a proven HybriDfMA structure.
Offsite engineered components
The hyTower® system for this project will use over 900 offsite engineered components for the internal structure together with a finished structural façade, formed of 247 brick faced sandwich panels complete with glazing installed at the manufacturing factory, both of which meet the architectural requirements for maximising space efficiency and visual requirements. The central stair and lift core consist of reinforced precast concrete wall, stair and landing units providing structural rigidity to the structure and meeting the robust fire resistance requirements required without the need for additional protection measures. Precast concrete columns vary in cross section to meet the visual requirements of the communal spaces and where required have been designed as slender columns to fit within the individual apartment partition walls thus maximising unobstructed available space of each apartment for their future residents.
An efficient M&E distribution design
Structural steel Deltabeams span between the precast concrete walls and columns and support solid prestressed concrete floor units spanning up to 6.5 metres that do not require any further structural concrete topping. The resulting hyTower® floor structure does not have any downstands thus ensuring a more efficient M&E distribution design as well as minimising overall floor thicknesses within the structure and allows follow on trades access to carry out their works earlier than would occur with other more traditional construction methods. The hyTower® design approach uses the latest digital methods for structural analysis, modelling and production of detailed working drawings to ensure accurate co-ordination with other specialist design input, incorporating M&E component requirements to be cast into the precast concrete elements, reduction in waste and efficient programme control from the design process, through offsite manufacturing to final onsite construction completion.
