The refurbishment of a 24-storey building on Smith Street in the Durban CBD requires lightweight partitioning throughout the building's multiple floors. Aertec AAC was specified to minimise the additional structural load imposed on the existing building frame during this major refurbishment project.
A 24-storey building refurbishment presents significant structural considerations: the accumulation of partition wall weight across multiple floors can impose substantial additional loads on the lower floors, foundations, and core structure. By specifying Aertec AAC at 400 kg/m³ rather than clay brick at 1,900 kg/m³, the structural engineer significantly reduced these accumulated loads across the full building height.
The Smith Street project is one of the largest building refurbishments where Aertec AAC has been specified in South Africa, demonstrating the material's capability for major high-rise refurbishment applications.
