New frame profile to easily and quickly assemble in-house

Innovative window frame profiles for Ernest Mélot residence in Namur

Early this year, the first students moved into the brand new Ernest Mélot residence in Namur. The student housing was commissioned by Xior Student Housing and provides space for 216 student rooms and various communal facilities such as a collective study area, a fitness and relaxation area and a secure bicycle storage facility. The new building was designed and built largely prefabricated, with prefabricated structural components and prefabricated facade elements. In cooperation with Stalku Geveltechniek, Aliplast Aluminium Systems developed a new and innovative frame profile, which enabled easy and fast installation of the tilt-and-turn windows and fixed elements in the precast facade elements.

Wallonia - and Namur in particular - is characterized by a very outdated and scattered supply of student housing. The demand for new, well-located and high-quality student rooms is enormous. Specialist in student housing Xior Student Housing has energetically taken up this gauntlet, adding a new student city to its impressive real estate portfolio. Residence Ernest Mélot has been realized in a prime location in Namur, close to various educational institutions (such as the Université de Namur, Hénallux) and the train station and stands out because of its unusual shape, reddish-brown stone strips and dark aluminum frames, windows and curtain walls in powder coating 7021ST metallic.

Prefabricated facades

The new building was realized by C-construct, the construction division of Cordeel Group, which is highly committed to vertical integration. Indeed, by offering as many aspects of the construction process as possible, construction costs can be optimized and execution times shortened. "Prefab takes these benefits to an even higher level and was even unavoidable in residence Ernest Mélot, due to its location on the railroad," says Marc Mulders, Sales Manager Netherlands at Aliplast. "The erection of scaffolding was not possible everywhere and led, for example, to the prefabrication of the concrete inner leaves. For this, C-construct called on Cordeel Group's own precast concrete plant. All inner leaves were transported to construction as one complete unit and lifted directly against the building shell, including the frame elements." To ensure optimal assembly of these frame elements, Aliplast and Stalku Geveltechniek were involved by Cordeel at a very early stage. How could the window frames be attached easily, quickly and solidly in the prefabricated inner leaves? "Where Stalku Geveltechniek contributed its production and assembly knowledge, we shared our expertise in design and extrusion."

New and innovative frame profile

At the basis of Aliplast and Stalku Geveltechniek's solution is the Aliplast Star75 aluminum system, which is distinguished by a sleek design, excellent wind and water tightness and high-performance thermal and acoustic insulation. "Our latest development takes this a step further. Indeed, thanks to the use of new profiles, the frame system can also be assembled very easily and quickly," said Mulders. "Both in the Netherlands and Belgium, we still mostly work with set frames to anchor the frame in the facade. Instead, we have developed a methodology with turn anchors, which make the set frame unnecessary. Instead, twist anchors are inserted into the wall opening. Then the facade builder can very easily place the frames against the precast facade element and - by turning the anchors - firmly anchor the complete elements." To demonstrate the suitability for Ernest Mélot residence, several tests were carried out, he says. "An important part of these were acoustic tests, to select the perfect combination of frame system and glass. As a result, the sound of passing trains is barely audible to the students."

Universally applicable

Although the new frame profile was initially developed for student housing in Namur, it is also universally applicable in other precast facade projects. From concrete to timber frame construction, Mulders says. "In residence Ernest Mélot, the new frame profile is used in combination with tilt-and-turn windows and fixed elements, but other combinations are also possible."

In the plinth of the Ernest Mélot residence, MC Wall curtain wall systems from Aliplast were also applied, in the same black-gray color as the window elements, creating an aesthetically unified and high-quality whole.