Connecting to a traditional frame
The Netherlands is home to over 200 buildings standing at 70 metres or higher. With even more of these towering structures currently being planned in The Hauge, Amsterdam and other cities across The Netherlands, now’s a better time than ever to consider your project’s balcony requirements. Traditionally, balconies have been fixed to buildings by connecting to a traditional frame made of concrete.
What is a traditional frame?
A traditionally poured concrete frame is built from the ground up, poured between stacks of rebar steel to create a sturdy wall to the building. Thanks to its rigidity, this method is used to this day as a reliable (albeit slower than a precast alternative) way to build apartment blocks and a durable material to anchor a balcony into. However, given how labour and carbon-intensive this approach is, many countries are looking for more advanced approaches.
We can connect to a traditionally poured concrete façade in several ways with our lightweight aluminium Cassette® balconies. Thanks to the slim, manageable form factor of our Cassette® balconies, any number of connections can be made, such as a tie-rod connection, a Remote Locker connection or even our innovative Glide-On™ solution.
Tie-Rod
The tie-rod connection is a fantastic choice for a traditionally poured frame as it makes minimal penetrations into the façade, meaning less risk of thermal bridging over time. Furthermore, far less raw material is used with the tie-rod connection, making it a sustainable, greener solution as both embodied and operational carbon is reduced.
Remote Locker
The Remote Locker is another smart solution, using radio technology and a small, toolbox-sized device which fixes the balcony to the arm anchors. With the Remote Locker, the stub arms are cast into the concrete façade as the façade is being poured. The main body of the arms are fixed inside the balcony Cassette® and raised by a crane up to the stub arms. The Remote Locker then fixes the arms to the stubs with a series of bolts controlled through a radio signal. Once the bolts are fixed, the balcony is safe to be stepped onto by a worker and the Remote Locker can be safely removed.
Glide-On
Finally, the Glide-On™ solution is available for traditionally poured frames. Using our innovative and speedy solution, we cast the anchors into the concrete slab, forming a robust base for the balcony Cassette® to slide directly onto, being secured by an on-site team.
Traditionally poured concrete frames have been used for decades and due to their structural benefits, they will likely be used for many decades to come. Thanks to that reliability, securing balconies to a concrete frame can be done incredibly sustainably with a tie-rod connection, smartly with the Remote Locker design or faster than ever before with our innovative Glide-On Cassette system.
If you’re interested in learning more about balcony design, various other frame connections and connecting to a traditional frame, book yourself onto one of our CPD sessions here:
