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Portarlington Co. Offaly is home toIreland’s first major development of 

Insulated Concrete Formwork (ICF)houses and apartments. Innovative interms of construction technique and highly thermally efficient due to a combination of high levels of insulation and extremely low air filtration, the ‘Riverside Estate’ is oneof the few new developments to qualify forsponsorship under Sustainable Energy Ireland’s (SEI) ‘House of Tomorrow’scheme. The SEI scheme is designed toaccelerate improvements in the quality of energy features in Irish Housing by supporting projects researching, developingand demonstrating more sustainable

energy practices.The Riverside Estate is the brainchild of 

local builder and entrepreneur Jimmy Clancy and his partner Gerrard F. May, a well known figure in the Roofing andCladding industry. Following a prolongedperiod of research into ICF’s, which took them across Europe and the United States,the partners eventually opted for the Italian‘M2 Emmedue System’, securing the soleagency for both Britain & Ireland. Basedon the positive experience to date and hiscomplete satisfaction in relation to the

efficiencies and benefits of the system,Clancy has recently turned the sod on a70,000 sq. ft. factory to manufacture a fullrange of ICF components for the IrishMarket. The facil ity, which has theenthusiastic support of local politician andMinister for Finance, Brian Cowan, willcost and estimated €13 million tocomplete and promises to create 200 new  jobs when fully commissioned.

Interest in ICF systems has heightened inrecent years due mainly to the high level of demand for prefabricated constructiontechniques. A total of nine new suppliers

are now active in the Irish market, six asmanufacturers agents, importing fromEurope and the United States. Theremaining three are now actively engagedin planning and constructing factories formanufacturing components on the Islandof Ireland. This development promises tochange the whole dynamic for the ICF’s inIreland, since reducing the high level of transport charges will make the system very competitive. Transport charges, on averagecurrently accounts for approximately 25%of the panel cost.

First invented in Austria, ICF’s have beensuccessfully used in central Europe for over30 years. Germany, Switzerland and Franceare the biggest markets for ICF’s, althoughother European countries including, Spain,Portugal, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway,

Russia and Poland are now growing

markets for the product. Approximately 60% of completions are houses while theremaining 40% are used to construct arange of building types including Hotels,Schools, Apartments, Sports buildings as well as Manufacturing and storage facilities.

The M2 Formwork System

The ‘M2 Emmedue’ system is technically advanced and has some unique designfeatures. M2 panels can be employed as asingle leaf system with sprayed concrete(‘shotcrete’) on both sides, or as a doubleleaf panel with concrete poured into the

Insulated Concrete Formwork Development in Portarlingtonby Brian Ó Murchú

Insulated Concrete Formwork - Homes

Insulated Concrete Formwork - Floors

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cavity in the conventional manner. Singleleaf panels are suitable for use as externalload bearing walls on buildings up to andincluding 4 storeys high and as internalpartition walls. The double leaf panel issuitable for use as an external or internalload bearing wall, for buildings up to 40storeys high and as a party wall betweenadjoining properties. The system forms acomplete concrete envelope and as a result

has excellent fire, sound, thermal anddurability properties. A 4 hour fire ratingcan be readily achieved with standard singleleaf panel and double leaf panelconstructions.

One of the unique features of the M2double leaf panel is that it arrives on site with an external mesh and an internalreinforcing mesh in place. To maximisestructural ef f iciency, the internalreinforcing mesh is factory installed froma selection of 12 mesh sizes. Factory insta l lat ion i s automated and thisfacilitates both precision and uniformity 

in the placement of reinforcing bars.  Another feature of the system is thatpanel sizes can be varied to suit theproject requirements. The manufacturingprocess also allows for the production of bespoke panels.

Both single leaf and double leaf M2panels have an integrated steel facing mesh.The mesh has a double function, firstly as agrounds for sprayed concrete (‘shotcrete’)or conventional sand and cement or acrylicplasters and secondly as a spacer to separatethe panel leaves. The facing meshes are

electrowelded into position during themanufacturing process.The system features a range of 

construction components, includingflooring and staircase panels. Perimeter andexternal beams are easily constructed and

reinforcing placed in the beams, flooringand wall units connect to provide a ‘fully tied-in solution’.

Health & Safety BenefitsThe M2 system also has many advantagesin terms of Health & Safety. Thecomponents are extremely lightweight andeven the largest components can be manhandled into position. Flooring panels form

an immediate ‘safe working platform’ and apolystyrene element which inadvertently falls or is blown from above, is far lessunlikely to cause seriously injury to those  working below. Flooring panels aregenerally temporarily propped during thepouring process.

Riverside Housing & ApartmentDevelopmentThe double panel system was employed inthe construction of the housing element of 

the ‘Riverside’ development which consistsof 52 houses and 90 apartments /duplexes. The double leaf panel has 63mmthick internal and external polystyrene

leaves and a 160mm cavity into which30N readymix concrete is poured. Thereadymix concrete is compacted into theformwork by external vibration - i.e.through the polystyrene leaf. The externalleaf received a two coat render, firstly   with a conventional waterproof scratchcoat, followed by a coloured waterproof render supplied by CPI Ltd, based inLucan Co. Dublin. The internal leaf of polystyrene formwork is faced withplasterboard and skimmed.

The apartment / duplex element of theRiverside development employs the M2

single leaf system which consists of a160mm polystyrene panel (density 15kg/m3) with an integral internal andexternal facing mesh. Shotcrete (sprayedconcrete) is applied to a thickness of 50mmboth internally and externally. Theshotcrete is comprised of 30 N readymixconcrete with polyester fibres for enhancedstrength and fire performance. The panel isrendered externally with a waterproof scratch coat followed by a coloured waterproof render. The internal face of  walls are plastered.

Care has been taken in the constructionof the Riverside development to avoidflooding. This involved raising groundfloor levels above the 100 year floodinglevel - a feature which will undoubtedly beappreciated by the occupants in years tocome. Raising the floor levels was facilitatedby the use of the M2 double leaf formwork  which allowed for the speedy constructionof a retaining wall into which gravel couldbe introduced to raise the floor level to therequired height.

Insulated Concrete Formwork - Apartments