A self-supporting modular shaft

Abstract

A self-supporting modular shaft, such as a stairwell or lift shaft, for installation in a building comprises a stack of at least a first pre-assembled floor module 5, a second floor module 9 and an in

Description

Technical Field The present invention relates to a self-supporting modular shaft, for example for a stairwell, or a liftshaft, comprising a number of pre-assembled modules (PAMs) that can be stacked on top of each other on-site and incorporated into a building. The stairwell provides stairs that enable people to move within the building. Also, the self-supporting modular shaft can be used in combination with a riser to facilitate access to the riser from the shaft. Background Installation of liftshafts, stairwells and staircases within buildings can be problematic. In the case of a stairwell and staircase, if they are delivered late to site then a temporary staircase will need to be procured and installed, which adds directly to the project costs and also results in costly loss of productivity. When they are installed on time, it is still necessary to fit temporary balustrades to avoid damage to the final finishes. Staircases have traditionally been made from pre-cast concrete sections or from hot-rolled steel. Concrete pre-cast staircases are very heavy which makes them difficult to install. It is also very difficult to modify them, should anychanges need to be made. Typically, a stairwell is incorporated into a building during its construction, for example by leaving stairwell apertures in the concrete floor slabs, and a staircase to fit within the stairwell is manufactured off-site, Consequently, there is a need fora stairwell with a staircase th at can be manufactured off-site, easily transported to site and readily installed into a building during an early stage of its construction. Summary of the Invention In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided a self-supporting modular shaft for installation in a building, comprising a stack of at least a first preassembled floor module, a second pre-assembled floor module and at least one pre-assembled interfloorconn ection modu Ie, wherein thefirst pre-assembled floor module is located below the at least one in terfloor conn ection module and the second preassembled floor modu Ie is located above the at least one interfloorconnection module, the first pre-assembled floor module comprising a first framework, the pre-assembled interfloor connection module comprising a second framework and the second preassembled floor module comprising a third framework, wherein the first framework, the second framework and the third framework are connected together. Preferably, each of the first framework, the second framework and the third framework, are clad with an external sheathing board. Preferably, the second pre-assembled floor module is the uppermost pre-assembled floor module in the stack and the self-supporting modular shaft further comprises a roof cap located above the second pre-assembled floor module and attached to it. Preferably, the self-supporting modularshaftfu rth er comprises a first intermediate preassembled floor module comprising a fourth framework, and a second pre-assembled interfloor connection module comprising a fifth framework, wherein the first preassembled floor module is the lowermost pre-assembled floor module in the stack, the first pre-assembled interfloor connection module is located between the first preassembled floor module and the first intermediate floor module and the second preassembled in terfloor conn ection module is located between thefirst intermediate floor module and the second pre-assembled floor module which is the uppermost preassembled floor module in the stack. Preferably, a pre-assembled floor module and a pre-assembled in terfloor connection modu Ie comprises stairs, wherein the stairs in the pre-assembled floor modu Ie and the stairs in the pre-assembled in terfloor conn ection module are connected together to form a staircase. Preferably, the stairs end level with a stairwell floor surface of an uppermost preassembled floor module. Preferably, the uppermost pre-assembled floor module comprises stairs which extend to at least the top of its framework. Preferably, the framework of each pre-assembled floor module and each preassembled in terfloor conn ection module are made from structural formed steel (SFS). Preferably, the pre-assembled floor modules and the at least one pre-assembled interfloor module comprise a section of a liftshaft. In accordance witha secondaspect of theinvention there is provideda self-supporting modular shaft in combination with a modular building riser, wherein the modular building risercomprises a plurality of pre-assembled riser modules arranged in a stack, wherein each pre-assembled riser module is provided with doors which connect each pre-assembled floor module with each pre-assembled riser module. In accordance with a third aspect of the invention there is provided a building comprising a self-supporting modular shaft, the building comprising a ground floor component and an intermediate floor component and a space between the floor surface of the ground floor component and the underside of the intermediate floor component with a height, wherein the ground floor component is provided with a recess and the intermediate floor componentis provided with an aperture, that extends between the floor surface of the intermediate floor component and the underside of the intermediate floor component, wherein the first pre-assembled floor modulehasa heightthatis less than heightof the space and wherein the first pre-assembled floor module is located within the recess and the top of its first framework is located lower than the underside of the intermediate floor component, the first pre-assembled interfloor connection module is attached to the top of the first pre-assembled floor module and the top of its second framework is located below the floor surface of the intermediate floor component. Preferably, the top of the second framework of the first pre-assembled interfloor connection module is located between the floor surface of the intermediate floor component and the underside of the intermediate floor component. Preferably, the second pre-assembled floor module is attached to the top of the first pre-assembled interfloor connection module. Preferably, the first intermediate pre-assembled floor module is attached to the top of the first pre-assembled in terfloor conn ection module and the second pre-assembled interfloor connection module is attached to the top of the first intermediate pre-assembled floor module and the second pre-assembled floor module is attached to the top of the second pre-assembled interfloor connection module. In accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a method of constructing a building comprising a self-supporting modular shaft comprising the steps of installing the first pre-assembled floor module into the space by moving it laterally into the building and then by lowering it into the recess, installing the first preassembled interfloor connection module by moving it laterally into the building and lowering it on top of the first pre-assembled floor module. Preferably, the first pre-assembled in terfloor conn ection module is located above the floor surface of the intermediate floor component, moved laterally into place above the aperture in the intermediate floor component and lowered on top of the first preassembled floor module. Preferably, thesecond pre-assembled floor module is located above the floor surface of the intermediate floor component, moved laterally into place above the aperture in the intermediate floor component and lowered on top of the pre-assembled interfloor connection module. Brief Description of the Drawings Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings where like parts are provided with corresponding reference numerals and in which: Figure 1 is a schematic perspective cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a modular stairwell installed in a three storey building; Figure 2 is a schematic elevation view of the modular stairwell of Figure 1 installed in the three-storey building; Figures is a schematic plan view of the modular stairwell of Figure 1 installed into a building adjacent to a modular building riser; Figure4 is a schematic plan view of the modular stairwell of Figure 1 installed intoa building with a first modular building riser on one side and a second modular building riser on its opposite side; Figures is a schematic plan view of the modular stairwell of Figure 1 installed intoa building with a first modular building riserand a pre-assembled liftshaft; Figures is a schematic elevation view of the modular stairwell of Figure 1 installed in the three-storey building, with the staircases removed for clarity and the heights shown; Figure? illustrates a first stage of installation ofthe stairwell of Figure 1 into the three-storey building; Figure 8 illustrates a second stage of installation ofthe stairwell of Figure 1 into the three-storey building; Figure9 illustratesa third stage of installation ofthe stairwell of Figure 1 into the three-storey building; and Figure 10 is a schematic a schematic elevation view of a second embodiment of a modularstairwell according to the present invention installed in a three-storey building. Detailed Description Figure 1 illustratesa modularstairwell 1 according to the present invention for use in a three-storey building 3. The modularstairwell 1 comprises a stairwell encasement and stairs. The modularstairwell 1 comprises six separate pre-assembled modules stacked vertically on top of each other and attached to each other. There is a ground floor module 5 located on the first storey of the building 3, a first in terfloor conn ection module 7 between the ground floor module 5 and a first intermediate floor module 9, located on the second storey of the building 3, a second interfloor connection module 11 between the first intermediate floor module 9, a top floor lobby module 13 located on the third storey of the building on top of the second in terfloor conn ection module 11 and a roof cap 14 on top of the top floor lobby module 13. The modules 5,7,9,11,13 have a structural formed steel (SFS) frame 15 and are provided with various architectural, mechanical and electrical features (not shown in Figure 1). The SFS frame 15 is self-supporting, but non-structural. External cladding 17 is provided on the external sides of the SFS frame 15, as shown in Figure 2. The cladding 17 is a gypsum external sheathing board which provides a weatherproof barrier during the construction of the building 3. The modules 5,7,9,11,13 are internally lined with plasterboard 19 can also be provided with fire-rated walls if required. Figure 2 illustrates SFS stairs 21 within the modular stairwell 1 that extend from the first storey, the ground floor, to the third storey, but not to the roof. The building 3 comprises a ground floor concrete slab 23, a first floor concrete slab 25, a second floor concrete slab 27 and a roof 29. A structural steel frame 31, made from hot-rolled steel, provides a support for the firstand second floor concrete slabs 25,27 and for the roof 29. The SFS frame 15 of the modular stairwell 1 is bolted to the structural steel frame 31. Figure 3 is a schematic plan view showing the modular stairwell 1 installed in a building 3 adjacent to a modular building riser 301. The modular building riser 301 houses vertically orientated service conveying components, such as ventilation supply ducts 303 and ventilation extraction ducts 305, and facilitates the distribution of services within the floors of the building 3. The modular building riser 301 comprises a module associated with each floor of the building and each of those modules has an interior space accessed via doors 307. The doors 307 can be opened from the modularstairwell 1, thus facilitating maintenance of plant equipment located within the modules without having to enter the occupied floor spaces of the buildings. Figure 4 is a variant of the arrangement of Figure 3 in which there are two modular building risers 301, one each side of the modular stairwel11. The modular building risers 301 are connected to conveying components in the same way as described above in relation to Figure 3. Figures is a further variant of the arrangement of Figures 3 and 4 in which a modular building riser 301 is located on one side of the modular stairwell 1 and a modular lift shaft 401 is located on its opposite side. The combinations of modular stairwells 1, modular building risers 301, and modular liftshafts 401 of Figures 3,4 and 5 provide arrangements which act together to provide a core for a building. That core provides key functionality, such as access to all of the floors for users of the building, distribution of services throughout the building and access to plant equipment for installation and maintenance. The core can be installed simply and quickly into the building early in its construction, thereby providing that functionality as soon as possible. TheSFS stairs21 within each module 5,7,9,11,13 are bolted to the SFS frame 15of each respective module 5,7,9,11,13. The SFS stairs 21 of adjacent modules 5,7,9,11,13 are bolted together where they meet. The ground floor concrete slab 23 is provided with a recess 33 into which the ground floor module 5 sits when it is installed in the building 3 so that the stairwell floor surface 35 of the ground floor module 5 is level with the floor surface 37 of the ground floor concrete slab 23. The ground floor module 5 has a SFS frame 15a with a height H1 that is less than the height H7 of the space 38 that is defined between the floor surface 37 of the ground floor concrete slab 23 and the underside of the first-floor concrete slab 25. When the ground floor module 5 is installed into the recess 33, the top of its SFS frame 15a is lower than the underside of the first-floor concrete slab 25. The SFS stairs 21a of the ground floor module 5 extend from in a first flight from the stairwell floor surface 35 to a first landing 37, partway up the heightof the ground floor module 5, and then turn through one hundred and eighty degrees and extend as part of a second flight to the top of the SFS frame 15a. The SFS stairs 21a are connected to the SFS frame 15a. The first interfloor connection module 7 is located on top of the ground floor module 5 and is attached to it by bolting its SFS frame 15b to the SFS frame 15a of the ground floor module 5. The first interfloor connection module 7 comprises stairs 21b which are attached to the SFS frame 15b and bolted to the stairs 21a of the ground floor module 5 to form part of the second flight. A second landing 41 is formed at the top of the stairs 21b and the second landing 41 is at the same level as the stairwell floor surface 40 of the intermediate floor module 9. The height H2 of the first interfloor connection module 7 is determined by the distance between the top of the SFS frame 15a of the ground floor module 5, when it is installed in the recess 33, and the bottom of the SFS frame 15c of the intermediate floor module 9 when it is installed in the building 3, with its stairwell floor surface 40 level with the floor surface 43 of the first-floor concrete slab 25. The SFS frame 15c of the intermediate floor module 9 is bolted to the SFS frame 15b of the first interfloor connection module 7 and the SFS stairs 21 b of the first interfloor connection module 7 are bolted to the SFS stairs 21c of the intermediate floor module 9. The stairs 21c are attached to the SFS frame 15c and extend in a third flightto a third landing 45 and then turn through one hundred and eighty degrees and extend as part of a fourth flight to the top of the SFS frame 15c. The intermediate floor module 9 has a SFS frame 15c with a height H3 that is less than the height H8 of the space 46 that is defined between the floor surface 43 of the first-floor concrete slab 25 and the underside of the second-floor concrete slab 27. When the intermediate floor module 9 is attached to the top of the first interfloor connection module 7, the top of its SFS frame 15c is lower than the underside of the second-floor concrete slab 27. The second interfloor connection module 11 is located on top of the intermediate floor module 9 and is attached to it by bolting its SFS frame 15d to the SFS frame 15c of the intermediate floor module 9.The second in terfloor conn ection module 11 comprises stairs 21 d which are attached to the SFS frame 15d and bolted to the stairs 21c of the intermediate floor module 9 to form part of the fourth flight. A fourth landing 47 is formed at the top of the stairs 21d and the fourth landing 47 is at the same level as the stairwell floor surface 48 of the top floor lobby module 13. The height H4 of the second in terfloor conn ection module 11 is determined by the distance between the top of the SFS frame 15c of the intermediate floor module 9, when it has been bolted to the SFS frame 15b of the first interfloor connection module 7 and the bottom of the SFS frame 15eofthetop floor lobby module 13 when it is installed in the building 3, with its stairwell floor surface 48 level with the floor surface 49 of the second-floor concrete slab 27. The SFS frame 15e of the top floor lobby module 13 is bolted to the SFS frame 15d. The top floor lobby module 13 has no stairs and has a height H5 that is less than the height H9 of the space 50 that is defined between the floor surface 49 of the second-floor concrete slab 27 and the underside of the roof 29. When the top floor lobby module 13 is attached to the top of the second in terfloor conn ection module 11, the top of its SFS frame 15e is lower than the underside of the roof 29. The roof cap 14 is attached to the top of the SFS frame 15e and has a height H6 that determined by the distance between the top of the roof 29 and the top of the SFS frame 15e. The roof cap 14 is connected to the roof 29 with a weatherproof seal, for example to prevent the ingress of water into the inside of the building 3. The modules 3,5,7,9,13 and the roof cap 14 are manufactured off-site and then transported to site for installation into the building 3 at the stage in which the building 3 has its structural steel frame 31, floor slabs 23,25,27 and a roof 29, all supported by the structural steel frame 31, but the building 3 has no external cladding and so it is not weatherproof. The ground floor module 5 is installed first. It is located within the space 38 through an open side of the building 3 and placed on rollers 51, as shown in Figure 7, to facilitate its movement across the ground floor concrete slab 23 and into place in the recess 33. Figure8 shows the ground floor module 5 installed in the recess 33 and the first-floor interconnection module 7 located within the space 46 through an open side of the building 3 and placed on rollers 51 to facilitate its movement across the first-floor concrete slab 25 and into place on top of the ground floor module 5. Figure 9 shows the intermediate floor module 9 located within the space 46 through an open side of the building 3 and placed on rollers 51 to facilitate its movement across the first-floor concrete slab 25 and into place on top of the first-floor interconnection module 7. The second in terfloor conn ection module 11 and the top floor roof lobby module 13 are installed in the same fashion. The modular stairwell 1 is completed by lowering the roof cap 14 into place vertically through an aperture 53 in the roof 29. Figure 10 illustrates a second embodiment of a modular stairwell 201 according to the present invention comprising a roof lobby module 55 instead of a top floor lobby module 13 and a roof cap 14. The roof lobby module 55 has a SFS frame 15f which is bolted to the SFS frame 15d of the second-floor interconnection module 11. SFS stairs 21e which are attached to the SFS frame 15f are bolted to the SFS stairs 21 d ofthesecond-floorinterconnection module 11. The stairs 21f extend in a fifth flightto a fifth landing 57 and then tum through one hundred and eighty degrees and extend as part of a sixth flightto the top of the SFS frame 15f. A waterproof cover 59 is placed on top of the roof lobby module 55 and is sealed with the roof 29 to make the roof weatherproof, for example to prevent water ingress into the building 3. A stairwell aperture 61 is provided in the waterproof cover 59 adjacent to the top of the stairs 21f to facilitate access from the stairwell 201 to the roof 29. The process for installation of the stairwell 201 of the second embodiment of the invention into the building 3 is largely the same as the process for installing the stairwell 1 ofthefirst embodiment, except that the roof lobby module55 is not installed into the building in a transverse direction as for the top floor lobby module 13. The roof lobby module 55 is installed vertically, through the aperture 53 using a roof before being bolted to the second in terfloor conn ection module 11 and sealed to the roof 29.

Claims

1. A self-supporting modular shaft (1,201) for installation in a building, comprising a stack of at least a first pre-assembled floor module (5), a second pre-assembled floor module (9,13,55) and at least one pre-assembled interfloor connection module (7), wherein the first pre-assembled floor module (5) is located below the at least one interfloor connection module (7) and the second pre-assembled floor module (9,13,55) is located above the at least one interfloor connection module (7), the first pre-assembled floor module (5) comprising a first framework (15a), the pre-assembled interfloor connection module (7) comprising a second framework (15b) and the second pre-assembled floor module (9,13,55) comprising a third framework (15e,15f), wherein the first framework (15a), the second framework (15b) and the third framework (15e,15f) are connected together.

2. A self-supporting modularshaft(1,201)as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the first framework (15a), the second framework (15b) and the third framework (15e,15f), are clad with an external sheathing board (17).

3. A self-supporting modular shaft (1,201) as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second pre-assembled floor module (9,13,55) is the uppermost pre-assembled floor module (5,9,13,55) in the stack and the self-supporting modular shaft (1,201) further comprises a roof cap (14) located above the second pre-assembled floor module (9,13,55) and attached to it.

4. A self-supporting modularshaft(1,201) as claimed in any of claims 1, 2 or3, further comprising a first intermediate pre-assembled floor module (9) comprising a fourth framework (15c), and a second pre-assembled interfloor connection module (11)comprsing a fifth framework(15d), wherein the first pre-assembled floor module (5) is the lowermost pre-assembled floor module (5,9,13,55) in the stack, the first pre-assembled interfloor connection module (7) is located between the first pre-assembled floor module (5) and the first intermediate floor module (9) and the second preassembled interfloor connection module (11) is located between the first intermediate floor module (9) and the second pre-assembled floor module (13,55) which is the uppermost pre-assembled floor module (5,9,13,55) in the stack.

5. A self-supporting modularshaft(1,201) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein a pre-assembled floor module (5,9,13,55) and a preassembled interfloor connection module (7,11) comprises stairs (21), wherein the stairs in the pre-assembled floor module (5,9,13,55) and the stairs in the pre-assembled interfloor connection module (7,11) are connected together to form a staircase.

6. A self-supporting modularshaft(1,201) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the stairs (21) end level with a stairwell floor surface of an uppermost pre-assembled floor module (13,55).

7. A self-supporting modularshaft (1,201) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the uppermost pre-assembled floor module (13,55) comprises stairs (21) which extend to at least the top of its framework (15e,15f).

8. A self-supporting modularshaft(1,201) as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the framework of each pre-assembled floor module (5,9,13,55) and each pre-assembled i n terfloor con n ection module (7,11) are made from structural formed steel (SFS).

9. A self-supporting modularshaft (1,201) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the pre-assembled floor modules (5,9,13,55) and the at least one pre-assembled interfloor module (7,11) comprise a section of a liftshaft.

10. A self-supporting modularshaft(1,201) as claimed in any of the preceding claims in combination with a modular building riser (301), wherein the modular building riser (301) comprises a plurality of pre-assembled riser modules arranged in a stack, wherein each pre-assembled riser module is provided with doors (307) which connect each pre-assembled floor module (5,9,13,55) with each pre-assembled riser module.

11. A building (3) comprising a self-supporting modularshaft (1,201) as claimed in any preceding claim, the building comprising a ground floor component (23) and an intermediate floor component(25,27) and a space (38) between the floor surface (37) of the ground floor component (23) and the underside of the intermediate floor component (25,27) with a height (H7), wherein the ground floor component (23) is provided with a recess (33) and the intermediate floor component (25,27) is provided with an aperture (61), that extends between the floor surface (43) of the intermediate floor component (25,27) and the underside of the intermediate floor component (25,27), wherein the first pre-assembled floor module (5) has a height(H1) that is less than height (H7) of the space (38) and wherein the first pre-assembled floor module (5) is located within the recess (33) and the top of its first framework (15a) is located lowerthan the underside of the intermediate floor component(25,27), the first pre-assembled interfloorconn ection module (7) is attached to the top of the first pre-assembled floor module (5) and the top of its second framework (15b) is located below the floor surface (43) of the intermediate floor component (25,27).

12. A building (3) comprising a self-supporting modularshaft (1,201) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the top of the second framework (15b) of the first preassembled interfloor connection module (7) is located between the floor surface (43) of the intermediate floor component (25,27) andthe underside of the intermediate floor component (25,27).

13. A building (3) comprising a self-supporting modularshaft (1,201) as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the second pre-assembled floor module (9,13,55) is attached to the top of the first pre-assembled interfloor connection module (7).

14. A building (3) comprising a self-supporting modularshaft (1,201) as claimed in claim 11 when dependent on any of claims 4 to 10, wherein the first intermediate pre-assembled floor module (9) is attached to the top of the first pre-assembled interfloor connection module (7) and the second preassembled interfloor connection module (11) is attached to the top of the first intermediate pre-assembled floor module (9) and the second preassembled floor module (13,55) is attached to the top of the second preassembled in terfloor conn ection module (11).

15. A method ofconstructing a building (3)comprising a self-supporting modularshaft (1,201) as claimed in any of claims 11 to 14, comprising the steps of installing the first pre-assembled floor module (5) into the space (38) by moving it laterally intothe building (3) and then by lowering it into the recess (33), installing the first pre-assembled interfloor connection module (7) by moving it laterally into the building and lowering it on top of the first preassembled floor module (5).

16. A method of constructing a building (3) as claimed in claim 15, wherein the first pre-assembled interfloor connection module (7) is located above the floor surface (43) of the intermediate floor component (25,27), moved laterally into place above the aperture (61) in the intermediate floor component (25,27) and lowered on top of the first pre-assembled floor module (5).

17. A method of constructing a building (3) as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second pre-assembled floor module (9,13,55) is located above the floor surface (43) of the intermediate floor component (25,27), moved laterally into place above the aperture (61) in the intermediate floor component (25,27) and lowered on top of the pre-assembled interfloor connection module (7).