Construction Platforms will be familiar to anyone who has been following Bryden Wood’s work over the last few years.
This is to ensure repeatability, without compromising the performance of the building, both in terms of energy consumption and user comfort.Doing this allows us to combine efficiency of performance with economies of scale on buying, for example, larger quantities of single gauge of pipe.. For ease of installation, we use pre-wired electrical products wherever possible.
Fan and pipe modules are fabricated off-site, designed for simple connection on site.. We pre-cast a pattern of fixing points into the soffit, so that there would be no drilling into the soffit onsite – avoiding working at height, dirt, noise and the risk of drilling into the steel rebar within the concrete.The pattern of the fixing points caters to full range of M&E service elements, according to size and purpose: some are attached to unistrut, some are on frames or drop rods, and some are fixed directly to the soffit.But in order to keep fixings and supports to a minimum, fixing requirements for all M&E services are considered in coordination and designed to be shared between modules / equipment.
They are also pre-attached offsite wherever possible, ready to fix to the pre-cast points.. Pre-assembled pipe modules massively reduce the amount of working at height required.Pipework is assembled in its frame off-site.
The frame then serves as its support for transport purposes, and allows for stacking of multiple units.
The small number of extra supports required during transportation to avoid damaging of services, are returned to the factory and re-used for subsequent deliveries..However, detailing is the main challenge and if not properly resolved it can generate sound flanking at the joints which is difficult to resolve without the use of wet trades.
Creating reliable diaphragm action through slabs when trying to achieve acoustic separation and control movement is also fraught with issues.. Other acoustic considerations include the noise from building services and potential increased reverberation time due to smooth surfaces.. Our response is to:.- Engage in early discussions with specialist timber contractors and acoustic engineers to address all potential acoustic difficulties.. - Use additional mass (increase the thickness of the slab) and acoustic ceiling and wall panels.. - Decouple floor finishes from the slab with additional insulation.. - Use alternatives to wet screeds, slab breaks above partitions, and resilient strips between CLT panels.. - Coordinate with engineers to reduce noise transmission caused by HVAC systems.. - Use in smaller size, lower buildings to reduce acoustic transmission and complexities.. Durability, rotting, installation in wet conditions.
Significant volumetric changes can occur to timber exposed to changes in moisture, including swelling perpendicular to grain direction, warping, and bending of straight elements.With engineered timber overall deformations are less likely due to the controlled material use and grain directions, but it is still sensitive to swelling if exposed to moisture and water.