APPLICATION
Open, service and adapt the spaces without separating frame from use
Offices, branches, showrooms, shops, restaurants and service buildings can be engineered in LSF where the spans, loads, storeys and occupancy remain compatible. The main challenge is to coordinate the frame with the openings, the façades, the building services and the future adaptation of the spaces.
DESIGNING THE INTERFACES
Four decisions must move forward together
Openings and access
Shopfronts, doors, openings, public access and exits influence the spans, the reinforcements and the façade grid.
Façades and envelope
Weight, fixings, weathertightness, insulation and architectural expression are coordinated with the supports provided.
Building services and equipment
Ventilation, air conditioning, electricity, plumbing, extraction and suspended loads are incorporated before the service holes are frozen.
Flexibility of use
The distinction between load-bearing components and internal fit-out must be legible in order to assess future change without promising unlimited reconfiguration.
One market, very different constraints
Offices and branches
Workspace grids, acoustics, cabling, technical equipment, access and changes to the floor plates must be coordinated with the load-bearing components.
Shops and showrooms
Large shopfronts, footfall, evacuation, façades and clear spans can govern the structural solution.
Restaurants and service buildings
Extraction, wet areas, equipment, maintenance and hygiene requirements add interfaces that must be known in advance.
Use hybrid construction where the use demands it
A large retail opening, a long-span showroom, a heavy item of equipment or a particular volume may locally require concrete or heavier structural steel. LSF can remain relevant for the compatible walls, façades, storeys or volumes, provided that the load path and the interfaces are clearly defined.
Choose the prefabrication level and the scope
Structure Kit
Prepared sections where structural assembly is organised locally.
Panel Kit
Pre-assembled panels and trusses where transport, handling and the erection sequence allow.
Custom building project
A broader scope around the frame to coordinate the envelope, building services, fit-out or a more complete building according to the contract.
PREPARING THE STUDY
The data that makes it possible to coordinate use and frame
Send the drawings or the brief, the activity, the expected footfall, the floor areas and storeys, the grids, the large openings, the façade envisaged, the equipment, the building services, any particular loads, the location and the level of support you are looking for.
Tell us about the use, the openings and the equipment before freezing the frame.
Tell Us About My Commercial BuildingYou can also write to us: commercial@algerialightsteel.com