Innovative Hybrid Construction in Elmshorn

PERFECT INTERPLAY: STEEL-REINFORCED CONCRETE AND KRONOPLY OSB

Innovative Hybrid Construction in Elmshorn

In Elmshorn, Germany condominiums are being built using an intelligent combination of steel-reinforced concrete and wood-based materials: bespoke comfort in a healthy indoor climate with an excellent energy balance sheet. NOAH Haus GmbH relies on wood-based materials from KRONOPLY for this, specifically storey-high KRONOPLY OSB/3 boards.

The entire building was erected using a mix of reinforced concrete and timber-frame construction. All elements that must meet greater requirements in terms of load-supporting ability, acoustic insulation, and fire protection are made of steel-reinforced concrete. These include the underground car park, storage, utility and special-purpose rooms, stairwells, lift shafts and all of the interior walls separating the flats. The ceilings consist of reinforced concrete slabs with concrete screed. The outer walls were made using highly insulated timber-frame construction. The building in question is a “KfW Efficiency House 55” with a U-value that is well below the ceiling established by the German Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) of 2009.

Every material has certain inherent strengths. In hybrid construction, different materials are skilfully combined to ideally take advantage of their respective properties. Concrete and steel are easy to use in buildings to provide structural strength and fire protection. Concrete floor/ceiling slabs, with their extremely great mass, ensure good acoustic insulation.

Wood-based materials deliver benefits in respect of indoor climate, thermal insulation, reduced embodied energy and utilisation. The KRONOPLY OSB boards used in this case to enhance the load-bearing ability and stiffen the walls are CE-certified according to DIN EN 13986 and manufactured in compliance with EN 300. The storey-high format of these KRONOPLY OSB boards and the high level of prefabrication of the timber-frame building elements enable rapid construction. In addition, wood-based materials – being derived from a renewable raw material and requiring very little energy to produce and use – are superior to most other construction materials in terms of sustainability and environmental friendliness. KRONOPLY OSB is produced in an eco-friendly manner using thinnings from sustainably managed forests and only formaldehyde-free binders. The corresponding environmental product declarations and all other certificates are available in the download section under Services -> Downloads -> Certificates“.

Intelligently used, hybrid construction results in convincing overall solutions for high-quality, economic and sustainable building and living: technically mature, cost-optimised and energy-efficient.