When it comes to building construction, a new trend is sweeping the industry, changing how we look at construction called Pre-assembly. Pre-assembly is a system that lessens the need for time-consuming and costly on-site operations while lowering the risk for work-site injuries and project disruptions.
The design and project management team at Newton Group utilized this system when designing the 1,615 sf of office space as part of a 45,000 sf expansion adding to the 40,000 existing plant. The need to expand the existing plant to include an office space was to accommodate the growing production management and logistics team and seemed like an excellent time to showcase our cutting-edge condo/commercial building method as well.
The system produced in-house is called the “KiwiCondo” Residential / Commercial Building System. A system that provides us an alternative to traditional methods for building condominiums and commercial projects as the entire building is pre-designed and tailored to suit your specific needs. All building components are factory-made, then shipped to the site with the insulation, windows, heating, cooling, and electrical elements already integrated into the precast elements. Once on-site, the walls, floors, and roof are, erected and connected together, with the bulk of the base building finishes already completed. Only interior finishing work, such as the partitions, painting, tilework, and millwork need to be added on-site (our wall system requires no need to apply drywall to the exterior perimeter wall). The results are extremely high energy efficient architecturally designed buildings, with all the advantages that come with the controlled conditions of a factory-made product.
Again, what sets the Kiwi Condo/Commercial building system apart from other types of structures is that this building system centers around inherent energy efficiency. The non-flammable, non-combustible insulation is installed to the exterior side of the precast concrete walls. All the windows are thermally broken, double or triple glazed for even higher performance with details that provide continuous moisture and thermal protection.
When the building is heated, the concrete will act as a large thermal mass. This mitigates fluctuations in outdoor temperature and allows the inside temperature to remain consistent. Thermal insulated concrete mass gives 8% more energy efficiency due to the leveling peaks and valleys of the temperatures during the day and then from day to day. The in-floor hydronic Heating/Cooling systems use this thermal mass to provide temperature control to the building. Utilizing this hydronic system for in-floor heating and cooling is more efficient than pushing hot air for heating and cooling due to the energy draw on fan capacity.
As the finishing touches go on to this expansion, staff have been excited to see this revolutionary design come to life. With a centralized heating/cooling system with far less complicated maintenance procedures and requirements, our new builds can adapt to meet today’s ever-changing technology.
While the primary function will be to use this space for the production management and logistics team, it will surely be a beacon of possibility for what condo/commercial buildings can be!
Have a look as we add the finishing touches and stay tuned for future updates by following us on social media, links at the bottom.