News, thoughts & findings on concrete formwork, architecture and construction. Schalungsreparatur, Betonschalungen, Architektur, Sperrholzschalung
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
classification of exposed concrete and repair of formwork
Of course the classification of surface quality of exposed concrete is one of these standards. The german standards for exposed concrete are some of the most ridgid classifications in the industry.
The requirements for exposed concrete are divided into the following four classes.
SB 1: low requirements, for basements or industrial use. no special requirements towards formwork. Low costs.
SB2: medium requirements to surface and design. formwork needs to be in good shape, although scratches, ripplings and repair marks are allowed. usually higher costs than SB1.
SB3: high requirements on surface and design. Used for exposed office walls etc.. High formwork requirements: no ripplings, no concrete residue, small scratches and repair marks allowed. High costs.
SB4: highest requirements. Concrete surface for "Dining rooms". Formwork can have small repair marks if architect agrees. Usually formwork is used only once for this kind of concrete.
(the emplica formwork repair system can be used for SB1 through SB3 and, if Architect agrees, even for SB4 formwork, discussion is necessary)
Additionally, all classes have a lot of sub-classes regarding texture, colour and porosity of the surface.
More information on exposed concrete can be found here:
http://www.sichtbeton-forum.de/sichtbeton_klassen.php (german)
the american concrete institute has a large database with documents to concrete...http://www.concrete.org/general/home.asp
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Summer coming, time to fix the forms
it is easy as 1-2-3 and doesnt cost the world.
see all our training videos and detailed product desciptions on our website:
http://www.emplica.com
Friday, April 1, 2011
April Fools Day
I hope that everybody was having some fun today!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Cleaning and straightening out formwork
With hundreds of pours during their lifetime, steel or aluminum system formwork are exposed to heavy strain. No worker on site treats the formwork like a raw egg.
After each pour, concrete residue clings to both the siurface and the metal frames of the formwork element. With cleaning machines, the surface and the frames can be cleaned automatically, fast and precise. PPS Dietle of Haiterbach (close to Stuttgart, Germany) produces these custom machines that help to keep the equipment clean. Not only formwork, but also props for scaffolding.
Once the frames and props are clean, they usually need to be straightened out as well. Otherwise those bent props wont fit for the next pour. To get them back in shape, PPS Dietle manufactures specialized, automated machines for the straightening of props.
The process of cleaning and repairing is in general "unproductive" time for the equipment and every hour or day the equipment is not on site, it basically loses money for the owner.
To get the most out of the formwork investment, cleaning and repair times have to be as little as possible. Automated cleaning and fast repairing are key to a productive and profitable formwork ownership.
watch this video of the cleaning process with a Dietle machine.
click HERE to watch the video
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| image: PPS Dietle GmbH |
and of course, the formwork surface needs repair as well. See our Website Emplica for more information about easy repair of surfaces.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Pritzker Price Laureate Eduardo Souto de Moura likes concrete
See the images below for my favourites of his work.
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| private house for luis vala das fernandes |
Especially the Paula Rego Museum has drawn my attention to it since he used pigemented concrete. Also, the chimneys are open on top to let natural sunlight into the museum rooms. this gives the rooms a very special athmosphere.
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| image: dezeen.com Paula Rego Museum |
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| image: dezeen.com Paula Rego Museum |
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| Inside the Braga Statium image: dezeen.com |
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| Outside Braga stadium |
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| image: dezeen.com private house in Braga |
Monday, March 28, 2011
Emplica announces partnership with PPS Dietle
Zurich / Haiterbach, March 2011. Emplica AG, a formwork repair systems specialist and PPS Dietle GmbH, an automation engineering company have agreed to work closely together. The cooperation aims, according to the directors Jan Herud and Holger Dietle, to venture new markets and clients within the formwork industry together.
The portfolios of the two companies are perfectly complementary. Emplica specializes in repair systems for formwork surfaces. The company offers systems that allows formwork owners to repair their formwork easy and cost effective. PPS Dietle develops and manufactures automation solutions for the formwork industry. Highly innovative automated machines for repair of frames and cleaning of formwork surfaces are among their product range.
The aim of the cooperation is to develop new markets together and offer products to a wider customer base. In addition, both companies plan to work together in the area of process optimization, since cleaning and repair of formwork systems are closely related processes. In the future, development of new products will be mutually coordinated. Through the cooperation, Emplica and PPS Dietle can provide customers interesting solutions for the re-use of formwork.
"The cooperation with Dietle PPS is a logic step, since the strengths of our companies complement each other," says Jan Herud, managing director of Emplica. "Customized solutions provide crucial competitive advantages over market companions. Emplica and PPS Dietle can realize such solutions" continues Holger Dietle, CEO of PPS Dietle.
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| image: emplica AG |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Dubai forecasting growth of up to 5 per cent in 2011
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| wikipedia |
The direction of the real estate market, which has suffered especially over the last 2 years, is not yet clear. But the low prices have attracted many new businesses which in the end will lead to growth again.
emplica formwork repair
emplica formwork repair
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Japan desaster
Still things moving,
firm becomes unfirm,
land like ocean waves,
house like a boat --
a time to be fearful,
but to delight as well;
no wind, yet the wind-bells
keep on ringing.
he wrote this after a devastating earthquake in Japan 700 years ago!
I strongly believe in the power of the japanese people to stand up again! Seiichi, keep it up!!!
Rebuilding Japan
Who hasn't watched the news the last few days since the earthquake and a following tsunami hit Japan's eastern coast. As a teenager i saw tchernobyl explode and now something similar is happening in one of the most developed countries of this world. I feel very sorry for all my friends in Japan and the helplessness that we all experience at this moment is very annoying.
Aside the nuclear drama happening at the 3 nuclear powerplants in Fukushima, Onagawa and Tokai, there are some 100.000 buildings damaged or destroyed, infrastructure is severly damaged and the flood has made life in many towns impossible for the next few weeks and months.
As if this wasnt enough, it seems that in this case, the new social media channels are not really providing anyone with reliable information. Most of what can be read is rumor and opinion. I have the feeling that official information is very scarce and maybe withholding the worst.
I found a few sources though, that i believe can help get clearer picture on the nuclear desaster in Fukushima:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org
http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/15/fukushima-15-march-summary/
http://mitnse.com/
http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/
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| image: nytimes |
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| image: nytimes |
Rebulding Japan will, according to Air worldwide, a risk analysis company cost around USD 40bn. This is a very early estimate and i believe it will be much more.
http://www.khl.com/magazines/international-construction/detail/item62541/earthquake-damage-could-exceed-us$-34-billion/
What bothers me is that Japan's economy has been struggling for almost 20 years in a row now and this hit is definitely no help to get the country back on a winning track. Lets just hope that it can recover fast with the help of the rest of the world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/business/global/14yen.html
emplica formwork repair http://www.emplica.com
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
and tieholes can look good!
Maro concrete accessories can improve concrete wall with concrete cones in many colors. Not only that, their whole business approach is very thoughtthrough and should appeal to any architect who works with fair faced concrete.
See their range of products here
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| image: MARO |
A closely connected company is selling and trading products to improve fair faced concrete quality.
have a look at http://www.matec-gmbh.com/
we do everything for a good fair faced concrete formwork: http://www.emplica.com
Baluarte Bridge in Mexico new landmark
The Puente Baluarte became the highest bridge in Latin America upon opening for traffic in late 2010. The mexican Government spend USD 1.2bn for the complete infrastructure project connecting the pacific coast with Durango.
The bridge spans 1200 mtrs wide over the gorge and traffic crosses 390 mtrs high above the river.
images: Grupo Triada
Article about the bridge in Geo-Mexico, highest bridges, video on youtube
Formwork system used: Peri
we care for good concrete surfaces: http://www.emplica.com
article about emplica in german construction magazine
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| bpz 01/02 2011, feb 17 2011 |
Monday, February 21, 2011
Concrete-Origami
all images courtesy Livio Vacchini Architect
link: Sportscomplex Windisch
formwork repair system: emplica
complicated Formwork
all images: norihiko dan & associates
Moscow's Yelena Baturina's company investigated by state authorities
Beaturina, the wife of former moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, is considered the richest woman in russia. She is suspected of embezzlement and fraud.
In the specific case, Baturina founded a company owning some land outside of moscow. The company only held USD 300 own capital in its charter but was able to be granted a loan of USD 440 millions (!) by the bank of moscow to buy the property. A few days later, the property holding company was sold to an english investment company. Curiously, the USD 440 million loan was never paid to the property company but instead appeared on one of Baturina's private accounts...
At the same time, the case againts Baturina is very weak, since she was the owner of the land in the first place and did pay her taxes upon the 440 millions. The problem is actually only that she was granted a loan of public money to finance the transactions. This is probably too little to have a case against her.
Baturina just used a little "shortcut" since it was her land and money after all. but to do that with public money is a little bold.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
complicated Formwork
The "casa da musica" is a communal concerthall, built for Porto being European Capital of Culture in 2001.
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| wikipedia commons |
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| wikipedia commons |
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| architypereview |
innovative plywood formwork repair systems: emplica formwork repair
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Formwork abused: Backstage Hotel in Zermatt
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| image: backstage hotel |
Anyway, if you want to see it yourself in zermatt, here you go: http://www.backstagehotel.ch
Heinz, if you like me to do some repairing: here you go: http://www.emplica.com
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
India: Government's construction spending fiscal year 10/11
Within the governments budget the following numbers stick out for 2011:
- Rural infrastructure development: USD 84 bn
- Urban development & housing: USD 2.6 bn
- General infrastructure (railways, roads etc): USD 54 bn
Alone in Dheli, around 40.000 Flats are being built on governement schemes at this moment.
The total growth of the construction industry in india for 2011 is estimated at 7.7 per cent, of which the larger part goes to infrastructure.
Ongoing construction has a value of roughly USD 100 bn at this stage
The Governement plans to finish construction 20 km of new highway per Day.
India's Government needs to spend USD 500 bn on construction within the next 5 years.
sources:
- Government of India
- www.chillibreeze.in
- indian times
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Iraq to become construction industry's new "paradise"
Reconstruction and rebuilding iraq is today's task for construction. Infrastructure projects will keep construction busy for the next 10 years.
Due to lack of expertise withing iraq, foreign companies can have high hopes for projects.
As safety still is a problem, any construction company should be careful until the region is more stable.
edit: Just found out: There is a train connection between Berlin and Baghdad...look here
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| image: wikipedia |
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Extreme Formworking Part III (or: "Where can i hang my Dali?")
On a beautiful spot overviewing the mediterranean sea, the fench fashion designer Pierre Cardin had this palace built in the late 1980's.
It is extreme formworking, because there are no straight walls or ceilings. Only the floors are even. Since the bubbles are lying on top of each other in a pile, the engineering works must have taken quite some brains and calculations. Or a lot of Artists.
The bubbles were built by erecting round steel "framework grids", "knitwear" (fabric) attached to the grid as a permanent formwork and then filling it up with fibre concrete.
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| (c) sepienthia |
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| (c) sepienthia |
here is a link to a good description of the design and construction process:
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