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sophisticated second-generation lift slab construction technique is bringing much of the efficiency of factory production to
jobsites in Mexico. Reinforced concrete bearing walls and slabs are
cast in a single stack at ground level
in a patented method invented by
Mexico City structural engineer
Pablo Cortina. Within two years of
its introduction the system has del i ve red a million square feet of
apartments in more than 200 buildings in Mexico City and Las
Truchas, Mexico.
Use of bearing walls, ingeniously
hinged to unfold beneath the floor
slabs, eliminates the expensive permanent lifting collars needed for
conventional lift slab work. The expense of forming columns is also
eliminated since the stack is lifted
on reusable temporary metal
columns set outside the structure
proper. Only perimeter forms are required for the slabs and walls. Also,
since the walls are cast horizontally,
no form ties are needed and there
are no tie holes to patch.
Speed as well as economy charact e ri zes the new method. Once the
foundation slab is done, two 5-story
buildings can be completely cast
e ve ry 10 working days on large projects. Fo u r- s t o ry apartment buildings have been routinely occupied
less than 90 calendar days following
ground-breaking. A 5-story building
requires about 2 hours per floor for
the cycle of lifting, wall-plumbing
and rerigging.
Foundations
As for any other building, foundation design and construction are
The reinforcing steel, electrical conduits, window and door frames, and
lifting and hinge hardware are set in
place for each wall panel before
concrete is placed and finished.
Smooth troweling is required to ensure a good surface on the next slab
cast above. Perimeter forms are set
back from the edge of the slab a distance equal to the wall thickness so
that, since the walls later pivot outward into position, a flush wall-toslab fit exists after erection.
Perimeter forms can be stripped
the morning following casting.
Spaces between wall panels are
then filled level using waste materials to complete the casting bed for
the floor slab above. The lower surface of the wall panel (as cast) becomes the outside face of the building; it can be textured or patterned
by placing liners or rustication
strips on the slab surface before setting the wall steel in place. The
smooth-troweled upper surface of
the panel becomes the inside wall
surface of a room and also serves as
the casting bed for the ceiling
above.
On the two developments completed in Mexico, concrete comp re s s i ve strength was 2800 psi or
greater and the walls were 6 inches
thick. Floor slabs were also 6 inches
thick at the Las Truchas project but
an 8-inch waffle slab design was
used in Mexico City. Voids in the
waffle were formed with pairs of
lightweight concrete blocks which
remain in place permanently. The
resulting exposed ceiling surface
was plastered.
Floor plan dimensions must be
integrated with the height of the
walls. Since the self-erecting walls
are all cast in one plane and cannot
overlap, the designer selects appropriate ones consistent with the
geometry of the building. Most important are the outside walls or
maximum portions of them on all
faces of the building because they
provide two-way lateral stability
during the erection process. Secondarily, some of the interior structural walls may be selected for the initial placement and then other
Architectural plan and wall folding plan for a building containing four efficiency apartments per floor.
interior walls chosen to fill in as
many horizontal spaces as possible
according to the floor plan.
Erection
While the scene is readied for the
first lift, the trusses and jacks are
Hinges
Earthquake resistance
Finishing
Finishing for this type of building
is conventional but faster than usual. The time and expense of plastering can usually be eliminated because the walls are unblemished by
form ties and thus ready for painting. Electrical rough-in requires on-
Design concepts
Applications
Although the system is applicable
to many types of buildings, it is most
economical for short-span, conventional reinforced concrete where the
desired stiffness can be obtained
without excess weight. It is best applicable to sizable projectssay 50
to 150 buildingsalthough these
need not be at a single site. With the
system, a developer can organize
and work efficiently, for example, on
10 buildings at each of 10 different
locations within a 250-mile radius.
Motels, dormitories and small
apartment structures would seem to
be ideal applications. Since there is
little complicated forming, the system is especially suited to areas
where skilled labor is lacking. Although the structures built thus far
are 4 and 5 stories high, the method
can be used for buildings up to 10
stories high and a 2-story, single
dwelling has been prototyped. Additional projects have been licensed
for construction in Venezuela and
Colombia.
PUBLICATION #C770090
Copyright 1977, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved