A ceramic fabric to industrialize the construction

Work with ceramics in construction is normally contingent upon the skill of the labour which traditionally places the material piece by piece over the surface. Just the idea contrary to what introduced Flexbrick to facilitate a much more industrialized working routines that offer numerous advantages for ceramic construction and innovative options for architects.

But how this patented system? Everything is based on the concept of ceramic fabric designed by Sarrablo, which had the support of 2.5 million euros invested by Malpesa and Piera Ecocerámica. "It's ceramic pieces with the format of always armed on a braid of stainless steel which allows to undertake large formats and with a great geometric perfection", said during the presentation held at the headquarters of the iTec of Barcelona. In addition, each piece of pottery has two slots that enters the grid, without welds, which reinforces the life of the product.

Steel mesh, provided by the company Estruct, not only reinforces the structure, but that is what really makes it possible to the principle of flexibility of the Flexbrick brand and the transition to a model of industrial production. As the pieces are lit steel formats of up 20 linear metres, being transported can devise. folded on pallets, or coiled coil as if it were a carpet. Also, the set would allow hitch through cranes for transfer in the work.

"The flexible tissue adapts to any curvature with close to civil works execution," says Sarrablo. "Sometimes, one can run up to ten times faster than the traditional system piece to piece". The precision and quality in the placement of the pieces is guaranteed by the place where originates the tissue: a workshop of the same work in the open air. There, the Weaver machines (prototypes still) is responsible for spinning the steel mesh so that the operator is responsible for positioning each piece without losing detail, using a well aligned together, and under some major security measures. In the workshop are also made various changes in the fabric of the structure, leading to a comprehensive configuration of designs (in rompejunta, in grid and draught, among others) and chromatic ranges.

And from there to the work in question. He said that the director-general of Piera Ecocerámica, Lluís Pinardel, with Flexbrick construction was inspired by what would become "the manufacture of a car in one plant Assembly and that it is an"innovative element that is aligned with the needs of architects and builders"." In this regard, the President of ceramic Malpesa, José Malpesa, referred to the product as "a suit tailored for specific construction projects", while he lauded the savings reported their use in work, between 20 and 25% cheaper for the facades.

Among the varied applications of the system are horizontal siding as a pavement of urban areas and gardens, Interior paving and flat roofs. Also, Flexbrick is designed to run draining pavement through boards and enabling the growth of vegetation or the use of gravels unless there is a movement of the pieces of pottery well subject by steel meshthat increases its resistance.

The pace in these surfaces product placement can reach the 250 square meters per day, requiring only two workers and a crane, says Sarrablo, comparing this procedure that is carried out to condition the soccer fields.

Hanging as ventilated facades, lattices or sloped or curved roof coatings are one of the big winners for the ceramic fabric. Steel side anchors prevent the collapse, on the one hand, and the versatility of the product makes it adaptable to any curve, on the other.

The lightness and resistance allows the architect project catenary roofs in dry and enclosures continued to build pergolas, false vaults ceilings of ceramic finish with less impact on costs. Thus, for example, in the Assembly of a vault, used lightweight formwork that accelerate the delivery at the site.

With regard to the joint panels, the system supports combination with any constructive element of reinforced concrete. The tissue is inserted into the mold of prefabrication and avoids the ceramic pieces to move while pouring the concrete, being completely embedded in it.

Due to this adaptability to materials to architectural structures, the applications of Flexbrick extends also to areas such as public works, furniture urban, formwork collaborating, stabilization of slopes, gabions, decorative murals and ephemeral architecture.

Both Malpesa and Piera Ecocerámica participating to 50% in the company responsible for marketing Flexbrick, Flexbrick tissues ceramic, with its own stand at the last edition of Construmat Hall. The company's aim is your system in the market at the end of this year before starting the process of international expoertación. In fact, Sarrablo named Colombia and Brazil as one of the markets that had made concrete demands of tissue.

So far, the company is working on creating the infrastructure to manufacture in series, but they rely on the possibilities of the product, as it emphasized Malpesa: "5 years ago we began to hear Vicente Sarrablo talk about this idea and, since then"", we we entusiasmamos with it because we think that it could be an important innovation in the field of construction systems".

During the four years that it has developed research on Flexbrick, one of the most noteworthy projects is the construction of a single-family house in Sant Martí of Tous (Barcelona), considered by Vicente Sarrablo as a prototype for some of the applications of the system.

The end result is an example of textile architecture from Flexbrick solutions, with a catalogue of applications ceramic Vault up the curved cover ranging from by mixed panels and various pavement.