GB2330861A

GB2330861A - A method of constructing a multi-storey building

Info

Publication number: GB2330861A
Application number: GB9823868A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ric Grosvenor
Original assignee: Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1997-10-31
Filing date: 1998-10-30
Publication date: 1999-05-05
Anticipated expiration: 2018-10-30
Also published as: GB9823868D0; GB2330861B; HK1020590A1; GB9723091D0

Abstract

A method of constructing a multi-storey building (10) wherein each storey includes at least one substantially upright wall member (18) having a lower end, and one substantially horizontal floor member (20) in which the floor member is constructed at or joined to the lower end of the wall member of the same storey after construction of the wall.

Description

A Method of Constructing a Building This invention relates to a method of constructing a building and, in particular, a multi-storey building. The invention relates in particular, though not exclusively, to a method of constructing high-rise apartment blocks.

According to the conventional method of constructing a multi-storey building, for each storey of the building, a concrete floor member is first put in place. The floor member may be formed as a precast concrete slab and may thus be placed directly on the upper ends of the walls of the storey below. Alternatively the floor member may not be precast, but instead may be constructed in situ using formwork laid on the upper ends of the walls of the storey below. After construction of the floor, the wall of the building, which may be precast or again which may be formed in situ, are then erected on the floor. The construction is thus in a wall-floor-wall-floor sequence.

A major disadvantage associated with such a working sequence is that at any given time, either only the floor or only the wall(s) of the same storey is being worked on. In addition, although construction workers are usually capable of working on both floors and walls, the frequent changes between working on floors and working on walls mean that specialization of skills cannot be achieved. These disadvantages increase the time that is required to construct a high-rise building, and this extra-time is very disadvantageous, in particular for example, when constructing public housing units to meet a pressing social demand.

High-rise buildings are often formed with a central core portion and surrounding wing-portions. The core portion generally houses common facilities such as liftshafts, fire escapes, and refuse disposal facilities, while the wing-portions are designed as apartments or office space depending on the intended function of the building. With very tall buildings it is common practice to construct the core portion first so that the facilities of the core portion, in particular the lift-shafts, can be used to aid in the construction of the wing-portions. However, the need to construct the core portion before the wing-portions adds further delays to the construction process.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of constructing a multi-storey building in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the construction industry.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method of constructing a multi-storey building wherein each storey includes at least one substantially upright wall member having a lower end, and one substantially horizontal floor member, characterized in that the floor member of the storey is constructed at or joined to the lower end of the wall member on the same storey after construction of the wall member.

With this arrangement it is no longer necessary to construct the floor member of one storey before the wall member(s) of that storey. This means that the construction of the wall members and the floor members can be "delinked" eliminating the conventional wall-floor-wall-floor construction sequence with a consequent improvement in construction speed.

In a preferred embodiment each storey of the building includes a facades a floor member and at least one substantially upright wall member, and the faCade has a wall portion integrally formed with a window/door portion, and the façade is formed before being put in place in said building.

Preferably the building comprises a central core portion joined with at least one wing portion, wherein the wing portion has at least one substantially upright wall member, and the wall member of the wing portion extends for at least two storeys and is integrally formed.

Each storey of the building may comprise a plurality of upright wall members, and the horizontal floor member of the storey may be constructed at or joined to the lower ends of the wall members on the same storey after construction of all the wall members of the storey.

In a preferred embodiment a movable, preferably vertically movable, platform member is used in the construction of the wall member. The platform member may be movable by means of a motor. In a preferred embodiment the platform member comprises at least one pair of plate members movable relative to each other. The pair of plate members may be movable relative to each other substantially horizontally, and may be movable to form a cavity for receiving concrete to form the wall member.

Preferably the platform member comprises a plurality of pairs of plate members.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows a multi-storey building with a number of working platforms and being constructed by a method according to the present invention; Fig. 2 shows the building shown in Fig. 1 in which the working platforms are removed for clarity purposes; Fig. 3 shows a partial sectional view of a working platform shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 4A to 4C show the stages of operation of the working platform shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 shows the plan view of a central core portion of the building shown in Fig.

I; and Fig. 6 shows the plan view of a wing portion of the building shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1, a multi-storey residential building being constructed by a method according to an embodiment of the present invention is generally designated as 10. The building 10 includes a central core portion 12 joined with four wing portions 14. The central portion 12 is for accommodating common public features, e.g. lift shafts, refuse disposal facilities, emergency exits etc, while the wing portions 14 are divided into a number of habitable flats 16. Each such habitable flat 16 includes a number of upright walls 18, a floor 20, a ceiling 22 and a facade 24. As can be seen in Fig. 1, the central portionl2 and the wing portions 14 are constructed concurrently, although on different storeys. In this case, the central portion 12 is being constructed at a higher level than the wing portions 14. At the respective top part of the central core portion 12 and the wing portions 14 is a working platform 26.

It will be appreciated that the core is constructed at a higher storey (say 5 floors higher) in order that the working platform 26 of the core portion does not interfere with the corresponding working platforms 26 of the wing portions. For clarity purposes, certain upper parts of the working platforms 26 are removed from Fig. 1.

Further details of the working platforms 26 will be discussed below.

Turning to Fig. 2, the working platforms are removed entirely for clarity purposes. It should also be noted that in Figs. 1 & 2 certain faCade elements have been removed for clarity. It can be seen that while the central core portion 12 has reached the fourteenth level, the four wing portions 14 have only reached the twelfth level. It can also be seen that in one wing portion that walls 28 up to the twelfth storey have been erected, while floors 30 have only been constructed up to the tenth storey. In a conventional construction method, the walls 28 for the twelfth storey cannot be erected until a floor for the same storey has been constructed since the walls must be placed directly on the floor of the same storey. However, according to a method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, some workers can now start to erect the walls for the thirteenth storey, while other workers can construct a floor member which is joined to the lower end of the walls of the eleventh storey. This is possible as a consequence of the fact that the conventional wall-floor-wall-floor sequence is no longer necessary. In this connection, the floor may be cast on formwork and secured to the walls 28. According to this method, it is also possible to precast a faCade 24, which comprises integrally formed wall portion 32 and window/door component 33, and to subsequently lift and set the faCade 24 into its proper position in the flat of the building. The facade of one storey can be located directly on the faCade of another storey in such a way that no intervening floor member is required and the facades can be seen as being part of the wall which is constructed completely independently of the floor members without having to follow the conventional wall-floor-wall-floor sequence. Thus integrally formed walls - including facade elements - can be formed extending over several storeys with a wall member or facade of one storey being formed directly on the corresponding part of an immediately adjacent lower storey.

It can be seen that, by way of such a method, it is possible to construct integral walls extending over a number of storeys. Within any individual storey, however, a facade element must be put in place before at least those wall members laterally adjacent the facade since the facade will be formed with reinforcing members which extend outwardly therefrom and which are incorporated in the wall members to either side of the faCade when the wall members are formed.

Fig. 3 shows a partial sectional view of the working platform 26 shown in Fig. 1.

The working platform 26 includes an outer frame 34, an upper frame 36 and a lower frame 38 joined together in a single unit. A wall 40 is shown as being constructed by using the working platform 26. A pair of steel modular forms 42 are supported by hangers 43, which may be moved horizontally along a rail 44, thus causing the steel modular forms 42 to move in the directions shown by the arrows. As shown in Fig. 3, the modular forms 42 may be moved towards each other and thereby to form a cavity into which a metal reinforcement component 45 is received and concrete may be poured, to form the wall 40. A through-bolt 46 is fixed to the wall 40 and the platform 26 to secure them together. The working platform 26 includes a synchronous electric motor 48 which, in operation, moves a screw jack 50 of the working platform 26 along a pinion jack rod 52, so that the whole working platform 26 can move vertically along the pinionjack rod 52 upwardly during the construction process. The pinion jack rod 52 is supported to the metal reinforcement component 45 of the wall 40, to allow upward movement of the platform 26.

As shown in Fig. 4A, the working platform 26 is shown in use in the construction of two upright walls 54a and 54b for a level of a building. Two pairs of modular forms 42a and 42b are provided. As shown in Fig. 4A, concrete from a container 56 is poured into the cavity formed by the pair of modular forms 42b and allowed to set. After the setting of the concrete between the modular forms 42a and 42b, the modular forms 42a and 42b are moved away from each other, as shown in Fig. 4B, so that the whole working platform 26 may then be released from the walls 54a and 54b and moved up one level by the co-operation of the motor 48, the screw jack 50 and the pinion jack rod 52, as shown in Fig. 4B. The working platform 26 is then secured to the walls 54a and 54b. The modular forms 42a and 42b may now be cleaned, and then moved towards each other to form a cavity for further erection of the walls 54a and 54b. The metal reinforcement component 45 is then built into the cavity formed by the modular forms 42a and 42b, and the whole process may then repeat again. By means of this arrangement, as the platform moves up one storey the wall member of one storey is formed directly on the corresponding wall member of the storey below without any intervening floor slab member. Thus there is formed a wall member that is integrally formed extending over several storeys. As shown in Fig. 4C, while walls of the upper level may now be erected, other workers can start to construct the floor(s) of the level(s) one, two or even three storeys below. The construction of walls and floors is therefore delinked. This means that the walls and floors can be constructed simultaneously, and since generally all the walls of one storey and the floor of one storey take approximately equal times to construct, the construction rate is effectively doubled by the present invention.

A further advantage of a construction method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention can be seen by the fact that the working platforms effectively surround their respective wing portions and the core portions. This means that as the walls are constructed the chances of misalignment is significantly reduced by the fact that the working platforms function as means for guiding the walls during construction and for preventing any serious misalignment from occurring.

Subject to the qualification that the core portion must be started first so that subsequently the core portion is worked on a few storeys above the wing portions, in order to avoid the working platforms getting in the way of each other as described above, it will also be appreciated that in the present invention construction can be carried out on the core portion and the wing portions concurrently even for buildings as high as 20 or 30 storeys. This means that it is not necessary to first construct the core portion and the construction time is therefore still further reduced.

As shown in Fig. 5, a working platform 26 as used in the construction of walls of the central core portion 12 is in a generally octagonal shape. The working platform 26 includes a two-tier steel outer frame 34 and a number of screw jacks 50 which, as discussed above, may be caused to move the working platform 26 upward.

Fig. 6 shows the use of the working platform 26 in the construction of walls 60 of the wing portion 14, which constitutes the habitable area of the building 10. Again, the working platform includes a number of steel outer frames 34 and screw jacks 50.

Areas 62 marked by dashed-lines represent locations where precast integrally formed facades may be placed.

It is clear from the foregoing discussion that the following improvements are achieved by the construction method according to the present invention (a) previously the progress of construction of buildings is to a very large extent restricted not so much by the number of workers, but by the sequence of construction, namely the wall-floor-wall-floor sequence. By means of the present invention, it is possible to have walls and floors constructed concurrently, thus allowing buildings to be constructed much quicker; (b) as the waIls are erected continuously and integrally, and since the working platforms function as a self-guiding means for the walls, the problem of misalignment of walls is significantly reduced; (c) such a method eliminates to a very large extent the honeycombing problem associated with the ingress of water into the walls; (d) the use of sealants can be avoided; (e) crane handling is minimized, since a self-lifting working platform system is used; (f) pre-formed integral building units, e.g. facades, can be put in place after construction of the integral walls; and (g) the existence of the outer frame significantly reduces the chance of workers accidentally falling over the building.

It should be noted that the above only illustrates an example by which the present invention may be carried out, and further modifications and alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Claims

Claims: 1. A method of constructing a multi-storey building wherein each storey includes at least one substantially upright wall member having a lower end, and one substantially horizontal floor member, characterized in that said floor member of said storey is constructed at orjoined to said lower end of said wall member on the same storey after construction of said wall member.
2.. A method according to Claim 1 further characterized in that each storey of said building includes a faCade, a floor member and at least one substantially upright wall member, and that said facade has a wall portion integrally formed with a window/door portion, and that said facade is formed before being put in place in said building.
3. A method according to claim 1 further characterized in that said building comprises a central core portion joined with at least one wing portion, wherein said wing portion has at least one substantially upright wall member, and that said wall member of said wing portion extends for at least two storeys and is integrally formed.
4. A method according to claim 1 further characterized in that each storey of said building includes a plurality of substantially upright wall members.
5. A method according to claim 4 further characterized in that said horizontal floor member of said storey is constructed at or joined to said lower ends of said wall members on the same storey after construction of all said wall members of said storey.
6. A method according to any of the preceding claims further characterized in that a movable platform member is used in the construction of said wall member.
7. A method according to claim 6 further characterized in that said platform member is movable substantially vertically.
8. A method according to Claim 6 or 7 further characterized in that said platform member is movable by a motor.
9. A method according to any one of Claims 6 to 8 further characterized in that said platform member comprises at least one pair of plate members movable relative to each other
10. A method according to Claim 9 further characterized in that said pair of plate members are movable relative to each other substantially horizontally.
11. A method according to Claim 9 or 10 further characterized in that said pair of plate members are movable to form a cavity for receiving concrete to form said wall member.
12. A method according to any one of Claims 9 to 11 further characterized in that said platform member comprises a plurality of pairs of plate members.
13. A method according to any preceding claim wherein said building is a residential building.