Load-bearing CFS panels can be built offsite to achieve tighter tolerances and greater assembly precision. This was the chosen method to construct the 126,000 sq. ft. Seasons Retirement Community in Cambridge, Ontario, according to Construction Canada.
The building came to structural engineers Atkins + Van Groll Consulting Engineers originally specified as an all-concrete structure. At the client’s request, the firm redesigned the building with load-bearing CFS framing to provide a more cost-effective structure.
Shane Mitchell of Glos Associates, the project architect, says CFS systems would help speed up construction.
“[CFS] contributes to erecting a building quickly, in part because it allows panelizing walls in a plant before they are delivered to the site,” says Mitchell.
The load-bearing CFS wall panels were pre-built offsite, shipped to the Seasons Cambridge location and erected there on a 14,000 sq.ft. floorplate, says Construction Canada. Even the window openings were prefabricated as part of the pre-assembled panels, making it easy to install the windows as each story is completed.
On the upper levels of the structure, the construction contractor used platform-type construction — each floor acted as a working “platform” for the next story — to compress the construction schedule and improve quality.
The pre-assembled CFS construction allowed a single construction contractor to perform multiple functions at Seasons Cambridge. The same company erected the interior load-bearing steel-framed walls, installed exetrior pre-assembled CFS wall panels and installed the composite steel-and-concrete floor decks, Construction Canada says.
Article cited from BuildSteel.org