Sustainability Login

NPS® PTC® Column

Ideal as a design component thanks to its numerous colours finishes and polishing. It is recommended exploit available space to the fullest, thanks the compactness of its sections.

With UNI EN 13225 CE marking, the patented NPS® PTC® Column is realised using high performance spun concrete.

The spinning treatment allows a reduction in the structural section, with resulting benefits in terms of usability of space, a greater bearing capacity compared to traditional structures and extremely homogenous surfaces.

The PDTI® NPS® Column is suitable for multi-storey buildings. It offers high load-bearing capacities while maintaining compact cross-sections. It offers integrated fire resistance without the need for additional work on site. 

It can be supplied in a multi-storey version. By installing a three-storey PTC® NPS® column, the vertical element for the upper two storeys is already in place - a considerable time saver.

Benefits

  • Native fire resistance
  • High load capacities
  • Compact sections
  • Construction site safety
  • Quick and easy assembly
  • Available in multi-storey version to further speed up assembly

Areas of use

  • Multi-storey car parks
  • Industrial building
  • Tertiary
  • High buildings
  • Infrastructure

Video

Application-Technique Recommendations

PTC® NPS® concrete columns are an ideal solution whenever fire-resistant pendular columns are required. 

They are easily laid thanks to lifting head hooks. 

 

Ing. Alessandro Pieretto, NPS® designer

Fast construction site and quick payback on investment

  • Reduction of the building construction time of at least 40% compared to traditional systems, ideal for new buildings.
  • With NPS®, weather conditions are not as crucial as with conventional onsite construction. That's why we can plan delivery and assembly precisely.
  • Certain costs, with correspondence between bid cost and actual cost due to the limited uncertain factors to manage.

Efficient and safe solution

  • As a rule, three workers and a crane operator erect a multi-storey column in 8 minutes. In a single operation, pillars for two or more floors are installed.
  • An average of 80% less manpower is used on site compared to traditional systems. Strategic activities are carried out offsite and CE marked.
  • Increased safety due to the substantial reduction of manpower on site and the safety systems integrated in the NPS® elements.
  • There is no need for a storage area because the elements are designed to be assembled, taken directly from the means of transport.
  • Provisional material is drastically reduced, with benefits in terms of sustainability. In addition, NPS® products arrive at the construction site without packaging, solving this type of waste management at source.

Space maximization

  • NPS® pillars allow you to maximize interior space, thus providing a larger area to sell or rent. For example, for a garage, this translates into more parking spaces than a traditional solution.

Native fire resistance

  • PTC® pillars are natively fire resistant without the need for additional treatments on site, for even faster and more efficient construction.

Solution with reduced environmental impact

  • Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), contribution for LEED and DGNB credits.
  • Limited use of raw materials compared to traditional systems, with the same performance.
  • 90% less temporary material on site, with positive effects on costs and waste.
  • Proven environmental impact per kg of product demonstrated through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Design in BIM with PTC® pillars for Tekla and Revit

PTC® column parametric objects for Revit and Tekla are a tool to speed up design and make the engineer's job easier.

DOWNLOAD OBJECT FOR REVIT REQUEST OBJECT FOR TEKLA

Certified environmental impact

For each specific project, the environmental impact of the NPS® solution can be calculated in terms of CO2 equivalent and numerous other indicators, based on the official Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). This allows the planner and investor to compare the environmental impact of alternative structural solutions and make an objective choice.

The NPS® beam-pillar solution reduces CO2 emissions and energy used by more than 20% compared to steel or concrete solutions. These data are proven by the comparative LCA carried out by the University of Genoa on two actual buildings. The environmental impacts per kg of beam are confirmed by the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).

DOWNLOAD THE PTC® NPS® COLUMN EPD

The importance of embodied carbon

Until now, the focus has been on reducing the emissions produced during the use of the building.

However, it is estimated that more than half of the total carbon emissions from all the new global constructions between 2020 and 2050 will be due to embodied carbon and therefore emissions related to materials and building construction/renovation (source BuildingLife Roadmap).

It is therefore necessary to focus not only on the operational emissions of buildings and to start considering both operational and embodied carbon in an integrated way.

NPS® beams represent an economic, fast and at the same time sustainable structural solution.

Contributes to obtaining LEED and DGNB credits

The use of NPS® beams can contribute to credits for building sustainability certification.

An external body supported Tecnostrutture in conducting a mapping on the contribution of NPS® products for obtaining credits for building sustainability certifications.

These specific mappings are available for LEED and DGNB certification.

DOWNLOAD LEED MAPPING
DOWNLOAD DGNB MAPPING

Fewer raw materials

PTC® NPS® columns exploit the structural efficiency of combining steel and concrete. This results in compact sections with less use of raw materials and optimisation of living space.


Made with recycled steel

PTC® NPS® columns are made of recycled steel for a percentage equal to 14% of the total weight, as confirmed by the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) issued by a third party.

The declaration is based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) per kg of pillar.


Logistics with low environmental impact

Tecnostrutture adopts a logistics strategy that respects the environment. We prefer green fuel road transport or the intermodal solution with longer stretches by rail.

As shown by the analysis of the product life cycle (LCA), transport to the construction site affects 2-3% of the total life cycle. Therefore, in addition to offering solutions that have little impact on logistics, Tecnostrutture’s commitment focuses above all on the raw material supply and end-of-life management phases, those that weigh most heavily on the environmental impact of the entire product life cycle.


Reduced emissions throughout the life cycle

  • The pillars are modelled in BIM, with the lowest possible use of raw materials from the outset.
  • They are produced in the factory using both self-generated energy and - as of January 1, 2022 - energy derived entirely from renewable sources.
  • Logistics is also low emission. Tecnostrutture gives priority to green-fuel and intermodal transport.
  • Site organization is simplified thanks to the fact that fewer workers are needed for assembly: a team consists of just three fitters and a crane operator, compared to the large work teams of traditional systems.
  • Reducing on-site activities increases construction speed by an average of 40%, with positive social effects on the local community.
  • There are also advantages in relation to the drastic reduction of formwork, wood and props that are no longer necessary since the structures are self-supporting. This saves trips to bring in and return the temporary materials as well as their production. The result is a substantial contribution to the reduction of construction site waste and scrap, with NPS® products arriving ready for assembly.
  • At the end of the building's life, NPS® elements are removed through selective demolition, which allows for the reuse of the steel and concrete used.

Storage

NPS® columns are designed to be assembled directly from the transport vehicle. If storage is the option, they can be stacked horizontally up to 4 levels and 3 meters high, resting on wooden planks.

For long-term storage, steel structures must be covered.

Each NPS® column is marked with an identification tag that shows the code as shown in the drawing.

For technical storage requirements, please refer to Tecnostrutture’s product assembly and installation booklet.

Handling

The internal route through the site and the material storage area are agreed with the site manager.

NPS® columns can be lifted and handled with normal lifting equipment, such as cranes or crane trucks. The weight of each structural element is indicated in the manufacturing drawings.

For technical handling instructions, please refer to Tecnostrutture’s product assembly and installation booklet.

Installation

Normally, from lifting to fixing, a multi-storey NPS® column is installed in 8 minutes with a team of three operators and a crane operator.

Before installing the pillars, prepare the anchor bolts fixed to the support surface, laid using the templates supplied according to the axes and dimensions of the project.

Screw the lower nuts with the washers on them up to the required height.

Lift the column with the crane and position it by inserting it on the anchor bolts placed at the base of the project support surface.

With the lifting device in traction, tighten all nuts, preceded by their washers.

Once the fixing to the base is assured and the base verticality is guaranteed, loosen the device.

Pull the release lanyard until the pin is completely out of the hole or window in the column.

At this point the final plumbing is completed.

The pillar base is then fastened with anti-shrinkage pourable mortar. The thickness is given by the distance between the laying surface and the base plate of the pillar itself.

We then move on to the integrative casting of the column.

Installation Video

Require information