Arabtec Construction is using the advantages of the flexibility, light weight and easy handling of Meva’s formwork systems to speed up the slab work on the prestigious Lilian Towers in the Business Bay district of Dubai, UAE.

The project involves the construction of two towers housing a five-star hotel and serviced apartments.

The towers will each have three common basement levels, a ground floor and 29 additional floors which will offer 440 rooms and 136 serviced apartments. It will also include a gym, a hall, a health club, parking for 984 vehicles and shopping facilities.

Arabtec Construction, the contractor, is using Meva’s MevaFlex and MevaDec systems in the construction of the towers.

The formwork engineering support is being provided by Meva KHK Formwork Systems, a joint venture between the Germany-based Meva Formwork Systems, one of the world’s leading formwork suppliers, and KHK Scaffolding Systems, a leading supplier of scaffolding and formwork in the Middle East.

“MevaFlex is a conventional and versatile wood girder system without system compliance. It consists of only a few components – facing, beams and props – and is easy to adapt to different and varying layouts,” says a spokesman for Meva.

On this site, the MevaFlex system is used together with the K-lock Cuplock system to best stabilise the system with its double-height beams and slabs. K6X aluminium beams are used as primary and secondary beams to support the facing. To date, a total of 14,675 sq m of MevaFlex and K-lock formwork have been delivered to the site.

“The crane-independent MevaDec system scored with its light weight and easy handling. The few system components can all be transported, assembled and disassembled manually, saving precious crane time and allowing the system to be used in high or confined areas where no crane is available,” says the spokesman.

MevaDec offers three forming methods covering every slab job in one single system. The contractor is using MevaDec’s drop-head-beam-panel method on the project.

“A major benefit of this method is that it allows for early stripping; when the concrete of the poured slab has sufficiently set, the drop heads of the props are lowered with a hammer blow. This lowers the panels and primary beams that hold the panels. The panels and primary beams can be removed for the next pour while the props remain in place for re-shoring until the concrete has completely set. Early stripping saves up to 40 per cent of slab material. To date, the site has been supplied with 3,790 sq m of MevaDec formwork,” adds the spokesman.

Another benefit of the drop-head-panel-method, he says, is that the number and location of props are determined by the system while assembling it.

“This avoids assembly errors and superfluous props while maximising safety. Because it has no fixed grid, MevaDec allows compensation areas to be minimised and it can be adjusted to the slab geometry with millimetre precision – a big plus in tightly scheduled high-rise projects.”

Like other Meva formwork systems, the MevaDec slab system is equipped with the alkus all-plastic facing.

The MevaFlex slab system can be used with alkus or another facing. While nailable like wood, alkus does not absorb water or leave colour stains on the concrete.

“The all­plastic facing constantly delivers the same top concrete surface quality no matter how often it has been used. In addition, it does not have to be replaced like plywood does after a number of pours. The Lilian Towers also benefits from the easy cleaning of the panels on site, paving the way for quality and fast concrete pours from the first cycle to the last,” says the spokesman.

Meva KHK Formwork Systems was established in the beginning of 2006 with its own offices in Dubai. It aims to provide state-of-the-art technology to the regional building contracting markets. Its systems include a comprehensive range of panellised slab and wall-formwork systems table, column and circular formwork, climbing and customised formwork, support scaffolding, safety gear and formwork accessories.