Wood-based floor slabs from Stuttgart cut concrete use by two-thirds

Researchers at the University of Stuttgart spent 18 months developing UniversalTimberSlab, a timber-concrete composite floor slab that can replace reinforced concrete in multi-story buildings while using only a third of the concrete. A 9 x 5-m slab just 36 cm high showed minimal deformation under a 20-ton load; a three-story mixed-use building in Oberkochen will be the pilot project.

• 9 x 5-m slab, 36 cm high, handled 20 tons beyond its own weight
• Uses only one-third of the concrete of conventional slabs
• 30-70 cm less structural height than post-and-beam timber systems
• Pilot use planned for a three-story building in Oberkochen, Germany