Yorkon Wins Innovation Award for New High Performance Floor
The latest product development from off-site specialists, Yorkon - the new high performance floor - has won a major industry award for innovation.
The new option for the Yorkon off-site building system has been presented with the inaugural Building Products Innovative Products Award, which showcases the best in British building innovation, research and development.
With a point loading of 7kN and a uniformly distributed load of up to 9kN/m2, the factory-installed concrete floor is believed to be the highest performing floor for a modular building.
It has been launched by Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, following a two-year development and testing programme and offers a range of benefits for steel-framed modular buildings with areas of high footfall or heavy point loading - from retail superstores and convenience stores to education and airport buildings, chemical and pharmaceutical applications such as laboratories and process areas, and buildings where specialist flooring is a requirement.
Features of the new floor include:
Point loading of 7kN- Uniformly distributed load of up to 9kN/m2
- Acoustic performance which meets the most stringent Building Regulations* requirements for airborne sound and footfall (*Building Regulations 2000 Part E)
- Shorter programme times
- All the advantages of off-site construction - superior quality, less material waste and less disruption
- Six storey building capability
- Improved site safety and site cleanliness as the concrete is pre-installed in the factory
- A highly durable terrazzo flooring option, which is factory installed.
The Yorkon high performance floor has already been used by Sainsbury's for two superstore extensions, and has been specified for a new NHS treatment centre in Wiltshire.
Commenting on the award, David Johnson, Director and General Manager of Yorkon, said, "We are absolutely delighted with this award and the recognition it gives to our commitment to design and innovation. And it is a fantastic accolade for the Yorkon team."
"The new high performance floor is a major development for the Yorkon modular building system and follows a two-year development and testing programme. The demand for off-site construction continues to increase and this new option will allow the approach to be applied to an even wider range of building uses, such as high traffic areas and applications requiring the placement of heavy plant and equipment."
A dedicated concrete floor casting bay has now been installed at the Yorkon production centre in York, integrating the pre-installed concrete floor option into the steel-framed module manufacturing process. The development of the new floor option also involved the construction of two prototype modules for extensive testing, and detailed design calculations, and module lifting and transport trials.
The pre-installation of concrete into modules in a factory environment is easier and safer than on a building site. Concrete can be poured into individual modules which are accessible from most sides, reducing, and in some cases eliminating, the need for extended chutes and pumps. It also allows the grinding and polishing of terrazzo flooring to be carried out under factory-controlled conditions, for cleaner, safer and quieter work on site.
