Storey height precast panels

Abstract

While in-situ concrete is a loadbearing form of construction, precast concrete can be formed as either loadbearing walls or as nonloadbearing cladding panels. Loadbearing panels are increasingly popular, since they provide a weathertight structural wall with high fire resistance combined with high acoustic insulation and thermal mass. In loadbearing construction, panels are stitched together to form a monolithic structural wall. Non-loadbearing cladding panels have maintained their popularity by providing greater freedom in design, from the visual point of view, than the structural constraints imposed on loadbearing panels.