GFRC-Studframe cladding for a Cartagena de Indias cement plant.

The new plant of the colombian cement manufacturer ARGOS is located next to the shore, in the Cartagena de Indias bay, that is surrounded by nice landscapes.

The tallest element of the plant, the preheater, has been cladded with precast GFRC pannels, understood GFRC is glassfiber reinforced concrete.

Architectonic Concrete, S.L. has provided technical assesment to all the main stakeholders and steps for this particular cladding sollution to be done: the plant owner, architects, precaster, and the assembling teams; about cost and schedule, detail definition of the elements, anchorage systems, precast manufacturing quality, and assembly proceeds.

The architects entitled for design wished this ventilated façade to resemble the shape of a modern sail, to evocate the discoverer Columbus, after who the plant itself is named.

These precast pannels are conformed as GFRC shells, half an inch thick, which are connected flexibly, to an extend, through embeds to an iron studframe, sized to each shell.

The whole element (shell + studframe) weights around 45 Kg./m2.

Diedral main face.

Diedral side face.

The total cladding is a by-faced diedral, forming a sharp edge to give a perception of volume and hide the panels back-face as well.

The average pannel size is about 6 m2 and for the total closure it is 3.000 m2.

Elevation means for all the elements was through a winch placed on ground. The heaviest pannels to lift were of 400 kg.

In order to reduce the façades exposure to pollution of the surrounding atmosphere, the pannels where coated with silicate pigments.

Also wind loads at 40 m/s. speed where integrated, while in design fase, as a potential stress to the elements.

GFRC-Studframe cladding for the Argos plant. Constructive details.

This image shows the back face of a pannel, while stocked, (it is 90º counter-clock when mounted).

Detail is an anchor plate serving the union with the "L" bracket support to the façade structure.

The iron studframe is calculated to sustain the stress due the wind loads, it is joined to the back of the GFRC shells (15 mm. thick), through L iron rods, embeded in the GFRC shell during the precast process.

This method for GFRC cladding pannel manufacturing was first introduced in USA, some 30 years ago, being a wordlwide standard now.

Bending and tensile resistance of this GFRC is higher than 10 Mpa (about 1.500 psi) at 24 h, thus allowing the whole precast pannel to demould next day without damage.

Pannels are fixed to the auxiliary structure of the building, through bolted unions, each comprising bottom to sustain self load and top to avoid tilt. That also makes pannel pre-positioning easier.

The back face of the whole cladding remain allways accessible to the maintenance services of the building.

Modular precast housing.

It is a single floor housing contruction system, 100% precasted and terminated before place.

Each module have a 30 m2 living surface, and is made of two elements, each comprising a base concrete slab and GFRC for the cladding and roof.

A whole element, even including a kitchen and bathroom is about 8 tones weight, that is possible due to the lattice of the base slab, and GFRC to be a foam cored sandwich.

GFRC sandwich makes also a great thermal and acoustic insulation.

This image shows the handling of a whole element, through four fixings in the base slab.

Elements where sized to fit regular truck platforms, so a single trip may carry two elements in most cases.

Being GFRC an easily mouldable material, façades and roof may be shaped as will, with innings and extrusions,if proper moulds.

As an example of that, the façade protruding seen in the images is an embeded cabinet.

Module roofing drains through a tube inside the GFRC cladding.

All of the modules GFRC can be painted with silicates, at factory, before delivery. Thus extending even more long-term durability.

The element inside shown in the image contains door and windows allready.


This constructive industrialized system gives room to plenty of architects creativity, since it allows infinite combinations of volumes, shapes and modularity, while to urbanize large compounds too.

Our engineering assist precasters, constructors, promoters, but specially architects, to obtain the highest quality at the lowest cost for these kind of industriallized sollutions, anywhere.