The CREE System
An elegant and refined prefabricated timber-hybrid building system for versatile high-rise construction.
Driven by our vision for sustainable and versatile building solutions, we have leveraged our expertise in timber-hybrid construction and our innovative spirit to enhance the CREE System for large-scale building projects. Partnering with CREE allows you to construct high-quality timber-hybrid buildings quickly and reliably with minimal risk.
Our collaborative approach helps contractors, developers, and designers meet the demanding construction standards of today and the future. Together, we can achieve superior results tailored to the needs of each local market.
4 Structural Key Elements
How many elements do you need to build a CREE building?
Every prefabricated building begins with a regular grid. In CREE buildings, each floor’s ceiling is made of timber concrete composite (TCC) slab panels arranged along this grid. Panel widths range from 2.50 m to 3.00 m, with ideal lengths two to three times the width.
Adhering to this regular grid throughout the building allows the same prefabricated façade elements to be used on all sides of the buildings.
For further details, find out more on our CREE Platform.
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Exterior wall element with glulam column
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Middle girders
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Timber-concrete composite slab panel
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Building core
Assembling the glulam columns with the pre-mounted exterior wall in one step not only speeds up the assembly process but also ensures faster weatherproofing during construction and allows the interior fit-out to begin early.
Double timber columns transfer vertical forces to the pair of columns below via the concrete edge beam, an essential part of the CREE TCC-slabs. The timber frame wall of a CREE building is non-load bearing and can already include the facade cladding depending on the design and material. As a result, the façade design can vary to suit local conditions, specific requirements, or individual preferences.
Many floor layouts require an extension to the grid to create greater building depths. We achieve this by introducing central support girders, ideally made of steel to minimize dimensions. If restrictions on the girder dimensions and fire requirements allow it, concrete, and timber can also be used instead of steel.
The slab panels are a composite of timber and concrete, providing the necessary fire protection between stories while incorporating renewable materials. The large span of the panels allows for great flexibility in planning interior layouts. The attractive wooden surfaces feature either a ribbed or a flat soffit, which we recommend keeping in full view.
The elements of the building cores are ideally prefabricated concrete or timber parts, with the walls and ceiling serving as stiffening elements for the building. The composite slabs are connected to the walls of the core using grouting and structural joints. Therefore, any horizontal forces will run through the bracing core. The position of the core is important for the lateral bracing of the entire system.
CREE Product Solutions
Tailored Solutions for Your Building Needs
Our innovative solutions offer tailored options for various asset classes. Each solution combines sustainability, efficiency, and cutting-edge technology to elevate your construction projects to the next level.
Hotels
Commercial
Student Housing
Technical Details
Deep dive into the CREE System:
Technical insights and innovations
Dimensions
The sweet spot for the slab length is between 6-9m, and the width is between 2.50 m to 3.00 m. These numbers can be pushed further though. The structural slab depth arises from the required dimensions for the cross sections for the respective slab length. The sizes of the glulam beams ideally fit to the suppliers’ listed standard sizes. The concrete slab depth derives from code requirements for fire resistance and load-carrying capacity. The predimensioning table gives insights into required cross sections for various load cases.
Standard Details
The integrated concrete edge beam ensures that there are no stresses perpendicular to the grain of timber elements. This avoids shrinkage by the timber beams and allows for the use of the CREE System in high-rise buildings. Standard details can be found on our platform for our CREE Network.
Timber-Concrete Composite Panel
Our slab panels are a composite of timber and concrete, connected with shear notches. The composite between the materials provides additional load-carrying capacity and reduces deflections so that longer spans can be achieved with smaller cross-sections.
CREE provides two different slab systems: ribbed slab panel (RSP) and flat slab panel (FSP). RSP are produced with glulam beams and a concrete slab. In a FSP the glulam beams are replaced by a cross laminated timber (CLT) panel.
MEP Design
The MEP design idea follows the principles of Best Practice wherever possible throughout the design process, to provide the building with a facility that balances performance with operational cost.
CREE is working in partnership with local MEP consultants and engineers as well as global leaders in innovative and sustainable total HVAC solutions. Together we can offer a wide range of energy efficient solutions to meet the client’s demands.
Starting from the passive design measures and geothermal energy sources through the prefabricated plant rooms, rack and skid systems, thermally activated hybrid slab panels, prefabricated 2D and 3D bathrooms, roof or façade PV panels all the way to smart lighting and BMS controls, we and our partners can advise on the best solution for the building to meet all sustainable energy standards.
Building Physics
The CREE System can be designed to meet individual building physics requirements and project needs. The mix of materials brings advantages for acoustic, thermal, and fire behavior of the structure. Our project portfolio includes various asset classes in various countries with partially very high requirements for building physics.
Manuals
Building with CREE means building in a systemized manner. This subsequently allows for a high repetition in all project processes, from design, to production, to logistics, to assembly, and to maintenance. All of this knowledge is constantly updated with all the latest project developments and is accessible to our CREE Network in our manuals.
CREE Benefits
Efficient, sustainable, viable - and constantly improving.
Using prefabricated building components, allows for the assembly of up to 500 m² enclosed, weathertight floor space area per day – roughly five times the pace of conventional on-site concrete construction. With only 4-5 construction workers on-site, which leads to a 70% reduction of labor on the construction site.
Prefabricated building components provide higher quality and precision thanks to their production in a controlled environment. For occupants, CREE’s timber-hybrid buildings ensure lower operation and maintenance costs, as well as an earlier move-in.
An integrated project design process enables early and accurate forecasting of costs and schedules. In the event of design modifications or cost optimization measures, the digital twin allows all project participants to view any changes in real-time.
The CREE system is designed to meet and go beyond the standards of green building certifications. Utilizing sustainable alternatives to conventional structural materials remarkably reduces the embodied carbon emissions and implementing energy efficient strategies substantially decreases the operational carbon emissions over the lifecycle of the building. Given the optimized design processes, the use of the system ensures maximum resource efficiency. The prefabricated methods help reduce waste generation off-site and on-site. The flexibility offered by the CREE system enhances the use of the building, prolonging its lifespan. The designed-to-disassembly vision behind the system further contributes to the principles of circularity.
Timber structures, while advantageous for their lighter superstructure, are often more prone to vibrations. The CREE system addresses this by using timber-concrete composite slab panels, combining the strengths of both materials. The concrete adds mass to the floor, enhancing vibration and acoustic performance compared to pure timber constructions, while still being significantly lighter than full concrete structures.
In the event of a fire, the timber surface chars, forming a protective layer that preserves the underlying material's load-bearing capacity. Additionally, the concrete top layer of the composite slab acts as a non-combustible barrier between each level of the building.
All core and shell components are prefabricated in an off-site facility, so transport is limited to a few end products, which just need to be lifted into place at the construction site. Thanks to their lightness and precision, this is a rapid and quiet process. CREE reduces overall construction traffic, as well as waste and noise levels on the site and its surroundings.
CREE structures allow for unrestricted visual access. This prevents worries about moisture ingress, hidden damage, undetected ignition, and even concerns about tropical insect infestations.
Timber-hybrids, whether in combination with steel or concrete, use the advantages of each material. The design team carefully evaluates the needs of each specific project and comes up with a holistic system solution that harnesses the economic and environmental benefits of the various materials. The CREE building system uses as few materials as possible, and renewable resources wherever possible.
Off-site production allows for better health, hygiene, and safety monitoring than on-site. Construction sited with prefabricated elements are less populated and therefore much safer.
