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Key Facts:
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14,200m² of total slab surface
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Spans up to 13m
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280–510mm Cobiax flat slab
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a dead-load reduction of 2,500t
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concrete savings of 1,000m³
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a 210t reduction in CO2 emissions
BAM NUIG
| Project | NUIG Engineering Building |
| Client | 
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| Architect | RMJM & Taylor Architects |
| Engineer | The Pre-Cast flat Slab solution became an affordable option through a combination of value engineering and speed of installation |
| Type of Structure | University Building |
| Pre Cast Elements | Void Flooring System |
| Pre-Cast Structure Value | Circa €1,200,000 |
| Start Date | June 2010 | Completion Date | July 2010 |
Oran Precast’s cobiax void-former technology offered an interesting contribution from a technical, ecological as well as from an economical perspective to the new engineering building for the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway).
Cobiax Features
Among the low-embodied energy construction materials the Cobiax void former slabs contribute to an optimised use of concrete and reinforcement steel. The Cobiax slabs are executed as pre-cast elements thus eliminating the need for formwork and allowing an increased construction speed for the General Contractor BAM. Furthermore, the pre-cast option allows a better control on the visual quality of the slab’s soffit. The Cobiax void formers are directly placed into the pre-cast elements during fabrication. The presence of the void formers does not only allow to optimise the usage of building materials furthermore the incurred dead-load reduction allows a better vibration control which was a critical element for this building. In addition the dead-load reduction allows optimising the size of the vertical elements and the foundation.Architecture and engineering
Mainly all slab soffits are exposed to make use of the thermal mass of concrete. For that reason the architects demanded maximum tolerance of 5mm and a smooth surface for the pre-cast elements. The location and shape of panel joints were predetermined. The south wing of the building impresses with a large glass front and an amazing 7.5m long cantilevering corner rising skyward
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