Technological Innovation in Real estate– MIVAN Construction Technology
Construction technology is fast evolving in the Indian real estate market. The exponential growth in real estate development comprising of high-rise buildings and skyscrapers have been observing a long gestation period primarily due to the current conventional construction systems being extremely time consuming and costly.
These continuous delays result in cost escalation which is borne by Developers who have little choice other than to escalate the price of property. This in turn results in these properties being unattainable to many. Escalating costs coupled with acute shortage of skilled manpower has led the Developers to look at alternate technologies apart from conventional methods.
What is MIVAN Technology?
Today there is a growing realization that the speed of construction needs to be given greater importance especially for large housing projects. In order to respond to these unique challenges in terms of time, cost and quality, construction industry has come up with a modern method of construction known as “MIVAN formwork system”.
MIVAN is an aluminium formwork system developed by a European construction company. In 1990, the Mivan Company Ltd. from Malaysia started manufacturing these formwork systems. Today, more than 30,000 sqm of aluminium framework from Mivan Co. Ltd. is used across the world. There are a number of buildings in Mumbai that are being constructed with the help of the Mivan system, that has proven economical as well as satisfactory for the overall Indian construction environment.
The technology has been used extensively in Europe, Gulf Countries, Asia and other parts of the world. Mivan technology is suitable for constructing large number of houses in a short span of time using room size forms to construct walls and slabs in one continuous pour on concrete. This technology offers higher efficiency, close to zero wastage and a massive reduction in the skilled resources required for constructing the shell and core of the building thereby substantially bringing down the overall cost of the project.
How does MIVAN formwork system works?
The basic element of the MIVAN formwork is the panel, which is an extruded aluminium rail section, welded to an aluminium sheet. This produces a lightweight panel with an excellent stiffness to weight ratio, yielding minimal deflection under concrete loading. They can be manufactured in any size and shape to suit the requirements of specific projects.
An extension of the structural load-bearing walls and flat slab system is the pre-cast technology wherein various modules of the structure are cast off-site in factories and then assembled on the site. The basic difference being MIVAN technology is a monolithic construction whereas the pre-cast is joining of pre-cast elements.
In this type of construction, cast–in–situ concrete walls and floor slabs cast provides the structural system in one continuous pour. To facilitate fast construction, early removal of forms can be achieved by hot air curing /curing compounds. Large room sized forms for walls and floor slabs are erected at site. These strong and sturdy forms are fabricated with accuracy and are easy to handle. The concrete is produced in RMC batching plants under strict quality control and is conveyed to the site with transit mixers.
Advantages of the MIVAN technology are –
- Reduces the TAT (Turn Around Time) by almost half as compared to the conventional techniques and help achieve a slab to slab cycle of 7 to 10 days.
- With its checklists implemented, it eliminates labor intensive activities like masonry and rendering.
- MIVAN technology reduces the skilled resources deployed for the project.
- Fundamentally with no construction joints and with free flow concrete used it eliminates/greatly reduces the chances of seepage resulting in negligible maintenance.
Comparison of Aluminium Form Construction Technique over Conventional Forms:
1. More seismic resistance – The box type construction provides more seismic resistance to the structure.
2. Increased durability – The durability of a complete concrete structure is more than conventional brick bat masonry.
3. Lesser number of joints thereby reducing the leakages and enhancing the durability.
4. Higher carpet area is achieved due to shear walls the walls are thin thus increasing area.
5. Integral and smooth finishing of wall and slab. Smooth finish of aluminium can be seen vividly on walls.
6. Uniform quality of construction
7. Negligible maintenance – Strong built up of concrete needs no maintenance.
8. Faster completion – Unsurpassed construction speed can be achieved due to light weight of aluminium form
9. Lesser manual labor as the electric and plumbing work is also carried out at the casting stage itself
Limitations of Mivan formwork:
Even though there are so many advantages of Mivan formwork the limitations cannot be ignored. However the limitations do not pose any serious problems.
- Because of few small sizes finishing lines are seen on the concrete surfaces
- Services after completing become slightly difficult due to the small width of components
- It requires uniform planning as well as uniform elevations to be cost effective
- The formwork requires number of spacer, wall ties etc. which are placed @ 2ft c/c; these produce problems such as seepage, leakages during monsoon
- Due to box-type construction, contraction cracks are likely to appear
- Heat of hydration is high due to shear walls
- It is rigid in design once placed, as any alteration becomes tough later
Indian Developers using MIVAN construction technology:
Change is inevitable in the real estate industry. The new generation of developers are giving the required momentum to these new technologies and in turn providing the much needed global shape to the construction industry. With professionalism on the rise there is more and more emphasis given to quality consciousness and timely delivery of projects giving impetus to the switch from conventional to innovative methods. Some of the Indian developers using MIVAN construction technology are Lodha group, Shapoorjii Group, Oberoi, Golden Gate Bangalore, Marathon Group etc.
