Two Geberit drainage products allowed the developer of a design-centric residential apartment tower in Brisbane gain additional floor space while reducing long-term maintenance for its residents.
An increasing number of people in Australia’s urban centres are choosing low maintenance apartments close to amenities and infrastructure. While addressing this demand for apartment living, developers also seek to maximise their returns with higher usable space in their projects. Therefore, good design plays a vital role in creating functional and stylish homes in more compact spaces.
Designed by architecture firm Eldenberg Fraser for Gurner, Flatiron is a high rise, resort-style apartment development in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.
Based on the triangular-shaped landmark building of the same name in New York City, Flatiron offers more than 250 well-planned single- and two-bedroom residences over 25 floors along with a communal pool, private spa facilities, a cinema, and dining rooms to complete the urban lifestyle promise.
The apartment and bathroom ceilings represented a major challenge for the plumbers because of the multiple services installed in the ceilings leading to space restrictions.
"We needed to consider flexible design parameters that would still allow full functionality of the hydraulic systems," explains Rob McAllister of Axis Plumbing.
Two Geberit products, Pluvia siphonic roof drainage and Sovent multi-storey drainage systems provided the space-saving solutions needed by the Flatiron building to address the problem.
Geberit’s Pluvia siphonic roof drainage system reduced the number of downpipes from 21 to 3 and the number of floor penetrations from 525 to 75, while the Sovent system required a smaller pipe diameter and eliminated the need for parallel ventilation.
Geberit Sovent drainage systems lowers the pneumatic and hydraulic pressure, offers versatile branch joining possibilities, reduces stack sizes, simplifies design of domestic water stacks, allows up to six connections on one multiple branch fitting, and minimises maintenance.
By choosing Geberit's drainage systems over conventional solutions, the developer gained an estimated 92 square metres of space that would have otherwise been lost – space that also equalled an additional apartment.
"Geberit Sovent allowed us to apply the principles of drainage without having to install extra pipework for venting and back venting. As a result, we used smaller hydraulic services risers, reduced penetrating slabs and decreased costs for surrounding passive fire protection," said McAllister.
"For us, Geberit is the first choice, as the products are far superior to the competitors' with technical support that is second to none. Additionally, Geberit has a consistent brand strategy and is a proven performer who has been operating for many years," he added.
