Hyundai Engineering & Construction (000720) has secured structural technology that allows the core areas of apartment buildings to be built with precast concrete, or PC, components. The development follows the company's residential PC beam-column framing system certified last year and widens the scope for off-site construction, or OSC, in which entire apartment buildings are assembled from factory-made parts.
Hyundai E&C said on the 16th that it had obtained a standards compliance certification from the Architectural Institute of Korea's building certification center for its H-PCW system, a precast concrete wall system that achieves seismic performance using what the company calls H-Link joints.
Until now, the core areas of apartment buildings — elevator shafts and stairwells — have relied on conventional reinforced concrete methods, in which rebar is tied on site before concrete is poured and cured, because of the structural safety demands of high-rise buildings. The certification demonstrates that these areas can also be built with precast components while meeting seismic performance and safety requirements, the company said.
H-PCW was developed jointly with Sampyo P&C and Camu E&C. At its center is the H-Link, a looped U-shaped hook rebar that improves both the ease of vertical joint installation and the structural performance of precast walls. A patent application is pending.
Last year, Hyundai E&C received technical certification from the Korean Structural Engineers Association for its residential PC beam-column framing system. That technology, which joins beams and columns, made it possible to design floor plans without columns inside individual units. With H-PCW confirming the safety of core areas, the company said the prospect of building apartments entirely from precast components has moved closer.
Because precast components are made in factories, their quality is uniform and precise. Less work is required on site, which shortens construction time, and mass production can further compress schedules.
"OSC offers many advantages, including better quality and productivity and fewer safety accidents and less environmental impact, yet it is true that some concerns about structural safety have persisted in the apartment market," an official at Hyundai E&C said. "Because H-PCW meets the structural performance required by the national design code KDS 41 20 10, we expect it to mark a turning point for wider use of precast methods and for growth in the OSC market."
Separately, the HMG Construction Technology Research Institute, the combined research and development arm of Hyundai E&C and Hyundai Engineering, is expanding demonstration research on future housing technologies beyond precast framing and wall systems. The institute plans to focus on advancing what it calls hyper-living technologies, including designs that separate structural frames from interior space, energy-saving EnergyCare systems and all-life-care housing.