ConX vs. Wood
In the United States, wood frame is the most common method used for low- to mid-rise residential, mixed-use, and small commercial structures. The ConX System offers significant benefits vs. wood, at a comparable cost:
- Ability to build higher than the building code limitations governing wood frame (wood typically limited at 5 stories)
- No shear walls or brace frames
- Ability to erect a building in a fraction of the time (all structural components are precisely pre-manufactured and simply assembled on site)
- Lean crews – far less field labor
- Greener. Significantly less waste
- Safer work environment, with minimal on-site waste or clutter
- Non-combustible – mitigates fire risk
- Durable and dimensionally stable – doesn’t expand/contract with moisture content, nor will it shrink, creep, rot, bow, mold, split, decay
- Not subject to plate crush
- Premium seismic performance
- System was developed with other trades in mind, such as electrical, HVAC, and plumbing, so that they spend less time configuring, drilling, and installing in a ConX environment
ConX vs. Light Gauge Steel
In the last 10 to 15 years, components of light gauge steel have essentially replicated structural wood products. The ConX System offers significant benefits over light gauge steel, at a comparable cost:
- Ability to build higher than the, structural limitations and building code governing light gauge
- Ability to erect a building in a fraction of the time because all components are precisely pre-manufactured and simply assembled on site – eliminating much of the structural complexity of light gauge multi-story construction
- Lean crews – far less field labor intensive
- Safer work environment, with minimal on-site waste or clutter
- Premium seismic performance
- No shear walls or brace frames – the simple ConXFrame is the structure
- System was developed with other trades in mind, such as electrical, HVAC, and plumbing, so that they spend less time configuring, drilling, and installing in a ConX environment
ConX vs. Conventional Structural Steel
Traditionally, the use of structural steel has been limited to commercial or high-rise structures. The ConX system provides significant benefits over conventional structural steel methods, including:
- Significantly faster due to lower & locking connections, less field labor, virtually no field welding
- Greener. Less wasteful from concept to completion
- Lower cost
- No shear walls or brace frames
- Shorter lead times due to systemic approach with standardized readily available steel member shapes and sizes
- Safer work environment, minimal steel climbing and reduced risk of injury
- Better seismic performance through redundancy and distributed load transfer
- Use of ConXR, ConXtech’s shorter span system, enables freedom to place the structure virtually anywhere on a standard concrete podium without the requirement for load paths to align with parking or retail substructure below
- System was developed with other trades such as electrical, HVAC, and plumbing in mind, so that trades spend less time configuring, drilling, fitting and installing in a ConX structure
- Less costly and time-consuming field inspections due to special inspection of welds taking place in the factory
ConX vs. Concrete
Structural concrete is rarely specified for the residential component of high-density, mid-rise and mixed-use projects because of the cost and the structural requirement to align all vertical load paths throughout the multiple occupancies. ConXR is ideal for residential structures because the redundant, interconnected spans eliminate the need to align vertical load paths from residential floors through retail and parking structures. In commercial structures, use of ConXL vs. concrete often enables savings in the foundation or footings of building because ConXL is a comparatively lighter weight structure and the efficient distribution of loads through the nodal moment frame/space frame design. Not surprisingly, the ConX system provides greater benefits than concrete, including:
- Lower cost
- Faster
- Significantly greener. Lower CO2 Emissions
- Flexibility to configure units, interior space and exterior windows without consideration for shear walls, brace frames and large columns typically required in concrete structures
- Lighter and safer structure to endure seismic events
- Eliminates disruptive traffic, cross-trade activity, and other noise and waste associated with placing concrete
Primary Advantages of ConX vs. Other Structural Methods
- Dramatically accelerates design through delivery of structural chassis ready for “dry in”
- Lowers Total Installed Cost (TIC) of project
- Developed with efficiency and sustainability as primary goals
- Safe and easy to assemble in field. Virtually no field welding
- Durable, seismically sound, blast and progressive collapse resistant and non-combustible
- Potential for savings in insurance premiums
- Manufactured and constructed with precision enabling other building elements to be factory built
- Infinite architectural freedom and future flexibility
- Dramatically reduces overall construction schedule by bringing efficiency to all trades
