PAARL | VILJOEN RESIDENCE

For Villjoen Residence, we had the opportunity to work with a dynamic project management company, Pencil Projects. Headed by brothers Pr.Architect Jozef and Chartered Accountant Daniel Smit, the company provides a holistic building experience from an original sketch through to final delivery of the built project. The duo selected the Cobute precast shutters for slab (rib and panel) and staircase for this new dwelling at D'Grande Vredenberg Estate in Paarl, which is centrally located and enjoys pristine views of Paarl Rock.

While work on site is still ongoing, the building process is proceding swiftly, with completion scheduled in October 2018.

Can a decking system be lightweight?

The Cobute decking covered by roof panels. 

Yes it can and the precast slab manufactured by Cobute has a weight of only 97kg/sqm deadload. The innovation is the design: the decking consists of precast ribs, with reinforcement steel cast in, precast panels and polystyrene blocks that act as void formers, contributing not only to the light weight of the slab,but also to thermal and acoustic insulation of the structure.

Slab thickness

Cobute produces decking ranging from 125 to 350 mm, with intermediate increments by 25mm. For Viljoen Residence, the slab was used for the portion of the house that includes a second floor, which houses the bedroom area. The 250mm thickness decking was integrated with the Cobute precast staircase; this integration allows to cast both structural shutters in one pour, reducing cold joints that lead to cracking. 

The Cobute staircase is integrated to the panel and rib decking.

The precast rib and panel slab was also used to cover the swimming pool, turned into a rainwater tank to tackle the drought the Western Cape has been experiencing.

The Cobute rib and panel slab was used to cover the swimming pool. 

Get in touch to discuss the design and the use of the Cobute shutters in your upcoming project!