Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/493534
Peikko Deltabeam. — Matt Balfe, Armtec A PR IL 2015 | 15 Precast Concrete PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY PEIKKO CANADA INC. Lemieux says that the Peikko Deltabeam is comple- mentary to the Lafarge hollowcore system. The com- posite Deltabeam was introduced in 1990 and in North America in 2007. Since 1990, it has been used in con- crete and steel structures, totalling over 10,000 build- ings worldwide. Although it can be combined with any type of slab, "ideally it is used with hollowcore and filigran-type slabs," according the Peikko website. "It's perfect for pre- cast slabs, often hollowcore, in residential and commer- cial. With the Deltabeam, we tried to take the best from both worlds, concrete and steel. On the perimeters of buildings, it allows for curves and other varied shapes," Lemieux says. "Once you have hollowcore on both sides of the Deltabeam, there's no need for shoring," he adds. A building using these beams can maintain a very rapid construction pace, with a new floor every three days. As well, Deltabeams make cantilevered floors easier to build. Lemieux says that the Deltabeam enables large open spaces, and is a practical beam solution for multi-storey buildings such as offices, hospitals, schools, hotels, car parks, shopping centres and multi-residential structures. The efficiencies and diminished carbon foot- print of the Deltabeam and the Solidia system keep the promise of sustainability in the foreground as do conferences like the one hosted by the Canadian Precast Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI) and held in Toronto in February, called Pathway to our Future. The conference looked at the business case for sustain- ability and included talks on where the sustainability movement might be headed. Other topics were an overview of Architecture 2030 and LEED V4 and a look at what kind of sustainability information architects might need from product sup- pliers. On the issue of direction, there was consider- able uncertainty at the conference. "No one was sure, really, where things are going. There's some confusion out there about what is sustainable development," says Brian Hall, CPCI's managing director, sustainability and business development. The conference did produce a number of key take- aways, though. "The main driver for sustainability in construction, the push for a low carbon economy, is not going away. Carbon price regulations – cap and trade or carbon tax – are inevitable. Capital markets and institutional investors are also driving this," says Hall. Also, despite weaknesses, LEED is becoming a stan- dard and is here to stay, "unless it does not evolve." One of its strengths, Hall notes, is that it is tied other indus- try standards. Data centres, for example, are also moving to precast partly because of speed and life cycle cost, but also because of its versatility, thermal efficiency and multi-hazard protection. " "