Major re-use project by OPENLY with Eberhard
In a pilot project by öbu, the association for sustainable management, double T-beams from demolition and dismantling projects have been cataloged and stored with Eberhard Bau AG over the past two years instead of being disposed of as scrap iron.
Double T-beams have been standardized according to DIN for around 100 years and are divided into three different variants: HEA beams, HEB beams and HEM beams. The aim of the project is simple: to reinstall beams instead of melting them down and thus save gray energy.
These steel beams have now been used for the first time in a residential construction project in Widnau SG for the OPENLY Valley Widnau project. The project is significant with 10 tons of steel used.
The OPENLY construction system uses the HEB and HEM beams as horizontal load-bearing elements by inserting and screwing together clay-filled box girder floors. The box girder floors and methods were developed and implemented by the timber constructor Schöb AG.
The advantages of this system are impressive:
Steel beams are extremely strong, and the system can also be used to imitate a classic concrete building in timber construction
Combined with a column grid, completely freely divisible rooms are created, no wall is load-bearing
Steel beams lose their functionality even after decades in an installed, dismantled and reinstalled environment
Thanks to re-use, there are no emissions apart from transportation. These are considered "net zero"
This makes steel beams a real alternative to classic (beech) beams.
As more and more buildings are being built with wood, we will have to save wood in the foreseeable future. An extremely large amount of wood is required for horizontal load-bearing and load transfer in particular
In terms of costs, re-use steel beams are interesting, if not even cheaper than a timber structure
Architecturally, the new wooden ceiling systems are extremely interesting, as there are no longer any underlays or overlays
The companies involved in the project will be happy to provide you with information and advice.
New: To increase the impact of the OPENLY bionic construction system for net zero buildings, we are now sharing our knowledge globally in the OPENLY.lab