The magazine - Lafarge

Chronolia
Saving time with
P A G E 4 2 | L A FA R G E | N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 | C R E S C E N D O
FR ANCE
This construction site on the French Riviera looks like any other with its busy
workers and cranes transporting equipment and materials. It is, however, a pilot
site, one of the first to use a revolutionary quick-set concrete called
Chronolia TM , Lafarge’s latest concrete product.
In a few months’ time, there will be thousands
of square meters of office space, but for the
time being this district of Nice is still a building
site which springs into life at 8am every morning.
“We are always looking for ways to
reduce cycle times. We constantly need to
save time,” explains Arnaud Comino, works
foreman. So how can this race against time be
reconciled with the time required for the
concrete to achieve optimum performance?
The answer is Chronolia TM .
Efficiency
On your marks! Arnaud Comino gives the
orders on site. His men are busy with the formwork.
At 11am, the laborers are pouring the
cement. A few hours later, at 3pm, the
concrete is ready for the formwork to be removed.
It is a real revolution in the building world!
“With this new concrete we can pour twice in
the same day. After one stripping, we pour
again straight away so it is ready the following
morning,” explains Arnaud Comino.
The project’s main feature is 30,000m 2 of floor
for the offices (16,000m 2 ) and the four basement
levels (14,000m 2 ). As the workers recognize,
“completing the floors more quickly
means that we can get on with work on the
walls of the upper floors.”
Simplicity
Another benefit is that with Chronolia TM everything
is ready to use. So, how is Chronolia TM
different from “normal” concrete? It becomes
perfectly resistant in record time! French
Lafarge Concrete unit’s Marketing Director
Guillaume Francqueville explains it in technical
terms: “this new concrete is just as easy
to use and has the same 2-hour workability
time before pouring, but the setting time is
much shorter, meaning that the formwork can
be removed sooner. It rapidly develops mechanical
strength so is ready for form removal
within a third of the usual time.
Chronolia TM offers a variety of applications on
all construction sites. Formwork can be reused
more quickly (thus reducing hire costs)
and the new concrete makes it easier to deal
with the unexpected, particularly in terms of
the weather, and to meet deadlines. Furthermore,
by reducing time on site, Chronolia TM
helps to reduce nuisances.
In a construction sector in which safety and
time are key, Chronolia TM is the solution to
a productivity issue that gives new meaning to
the old adage “time is money!". ■
The exceptional properties
of Lafarge’s new concrete,
Chronolia, reduce time
on site.
CHRONOLIA
Chronolia came out
after five years of lab
research aimed at meeting
customer needs.
It involves a new
formulation and a new
admixture technology.
This unique formula is
Lafarge’s closely guarded
secret, but the key words
remain the same: rapid
strength and ready mix
concrete.
Wide use in all areas of
construction, for all
building industries: tertiary,
collective and individual.
Chronolia cuts the
overall cost of the
construction project due to
a shorter production cycle
and reduced overheads.
Launched in 2007 in
France, the United
Kingdom and North
America, Chronolia will
be rolled out in Chile, South
Africa and Spain in 2008.
© ARR Mediatheque Lafarge / Serge Henri
CONTRIBUTING TO A SUSTAINABLE WORLD