McLaren Construction (MC) presented Howarth Timber
Engineered Solutions (HTES) with a unique set of criteria for the development
of 110 luxury apartments and houses at Cambium Gardens, Putney, in London.
Designed
by Scott Brownrigg Associates, the brief was to construct very energy efficient
buildings with large open rooms but keep the building mass to a minimum for
their luxury development apartments and houses. Also to combine this with
ventilation systems providing constant fresh air into the apartments and homes.
MC teamed
up with HTES, via the carpentry installers J A Stott, in order to use their
expertise and the MiTek PAMIR software to meet the required specification.
It was
identified at an early stage that the pre-cast concrete slabs originally
specified would not work and an alternative in the form of MiTek’s Posi-Joists
was tabled. This lightweight solution allowed for the complex Mechanical
Ventilation Heat Recovery (MVHR) ductwork and building services to be hidden
within the floor joist zone, maximising the living space within the buildings.
HTES using the latest
EC5 compliant MiTek software PAMIR to design not only the Posi-Joist floor
joists but also using the 3D capabilities of PAMIR, ensured that the MVHR
ductwork was able to traverse the floors of the luxury apartments and houses.
HTES worked directly as an integral part of the project design team producing
interactive 3-D models and BIM compatible design solutions so that the entire
design team could check and sign off the proposals before any work was carried
out on site.
The MiTek PAMIR
software is able to produce not only .dwg drawings, but also .pdf files, CAD
drawings as well as Industry Foundation Class (IFC) files – to be imported into
Revit. This coordinated approach saved both time and money on the build for the
Contractor, Architect, Engineers and M&E designers.
As changes were made
to the ductwork layouts and runs, HTES were able to reconfigure the Posi-Joists
accordingly.
The use of MiTek’s
PAMIR software made this process possible and ensured that these components
would not compromise the structural integrity of the floor.
A challenging project
for all involved, but the skill and experience of the HTES Senior Designer
combined with the flexibility of the design software made it possible to work
through giving an efficient and cost-effective solution.
