Building the steel structure for the 6,000 m² VIVACY XL building at Vivacy Laboratories, located in Haute-Savoie and specializing in luxury cosmetics, was a real challenge in several respects.
First of all, designing the building's rounded shape so that it blends harmoniously into the local road environment called for particular expertise. What's more, in addition to the structure, the originality of the envelope - made of stainless steel mesh stretched over the entire exterior surface of the building - meant that metal cutters had to be manufactured and installed precisely to accommodate the future envelope.
REFFET successfully met this challenge, using its know-how combined with Trimble Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect software to design, manufacture and install the steel structure, including the building's knives. Assembly of the complete structure, now 60% complete, was spread over four months, in several phases, to install the 1,000 tons of steel fabricated in REFFET's workshops.
In particular, Trimble Connect made all the difference in the field.
The 3D Tekla model generated in Trimble Connect enables the plans to be completed with more detailed information on site, and the subtleties of assembly to be visualized for double-checking purposes. The tool can also be used to take additional measurements or altimeter levels if required. Teams gain greater autonomy on site, and can validate the quality of their work directly on site.
The use of Trimble Connect during the installation phase is an improvement in the installation process and a real guarantee of quality for the REFFET teams.
REFFET is a 25-strong family business specializing in metal construction in the RhĂ´ne-Alpes region, with its own design office and manufacturing facilities to carry out customer projects from design to installation on the building site. Its production site is EN 1090 certified.
