Application & Construction
Xella International GmbH, 47259 Duisburg, Germany
Fire-resistant and rapid construction with AAC
Loading...The first ideas already emerged on the weekend after the fire: How could a new building be created that, on the one hand, accommodated a supermarket, swimming pool, snack bar, reception and entertainment room, and, on the other hand, fulfilled sustainability criteria. A few months later, in November 2021, construction could already begin: The vacation park operators had chosen Xella as their partner. Less than a year after the fire, early June, 2022, the new building could be opened. 1,800 square meters of Hebel autoclaved aerated concrete were used for all interior walls and inner shells.
Short construction time with Hebel AAC
Hebel autoclaved aerated concrete can be installed very quickly. The AAC elements have a maximum length of 6.75 meters. The system is completely prefabricated, which also means that fewer people are needed on the construction site. This shortens construction time and ensures less waste.
Fire-resistant material
Hebel AAC is non-combustible and fire-resistant. It retains its structural properties in the event of a fire and is fire resistant for at least 360 minutes. To ensure that the firewall remains intact between two fire compartments and prevents collapse, the panels were installed with fusible anchors. In the event of a fire, these anchors melt only on the fire side, so that only the steel structure collapses. The wall itself remains intact.
Other advantages of the material are its high thermal insulation and storage capacity. As a result, the indoor climate in the building is always pleasant, even on hot summer days.
Flexible partner
In the cooperation, Xella demonstrated a high degree of flexibility: although there were only rough sketches at the beginning and many things kept changing in the process, space was available in the factory for creating the building elements on the one hand and delivery was fast on the other. "Where you normally have to allow for a year and a half of construction time, we now managed to complete the conversion in six months thanks to optimal cooperation," says contractor Stef Goesten of Bouwgroep Goesten, who was responsible for the project, in praise of the achievement.