Hebel has been specified extensively by architects in high rise apartment projects for well over a decade for very good reasons.
Such reasons were not lost on the designers of the forward-thinking One Central Park complex in Sydney’s Central Park precinct, who specified Hebel PowerPanel for the internal walling systems.
Energy efficiency was a main requirement for the development, with the project aiming to achieve minimum 5 Star Green Star ratings for design and building under both the Multi Unit Residential v1 and Retail Centre v1 Green Building Council of Australia rating systems. Hebel was specified as the building material of choice based on its products and systems being awarded the Good Environmental Choice Australia Label (GECA). The GECA assessment found Hebel products and systems have significantly reduced environmental loads of at least 30 per cent over their lifecycle.
At the heart of the highly sustainable Hebel system is the Hebel PowerPanel – a 75mm thick (or 100mm), steel reinforced building panel made from Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC). This innovative product is solid, secure and durable, yet incredibly lightweight and fast to install. Importantly, its inherent fire resistance and acoustic performance properties simplify design requirements and minimise risk. It’s for these reasons that a total of 34,000m² of Hebel PowerPanel was specified in Stages 1 and 2 of One Central Park for party walls, corridors and shaft walls.
The panels are available in 5mm increments which can mean savings from faster construction and less wastage, compared to alternative internal walling products. There’s also less mess on-site, offering a cleaner, safer work environment during the construction phase and less clean-up at the completion of the project.
But it’s not just the innovative Hebel PowerPanel that makes good design sense. The Hebel Express Head Wall System for high rise apartments is an innovation in its own right, which is why the design is patented. The most significant feature of this system centres on fire rating compliance. The Hebel PowerPanel reaches close to the top slab. As it’s non-combustible, only one sealant is required at the head without the need for a complex plasterboard system on both sides of the wall.
Hebel internal walling systems provide benefits in terms of construction, but more importantly, they will provide liveability benefits for the residents of these incredible apartments for years to come.