Apr 11 2014
"Green technology" and "sustainability" are today's watchwords in construction. As building with the minimal amount of environmental impact is becoming a priority, Veteran Infrastructure Products (VIP), is offering a panelized composite building system that provides an energy-efficient, cost-effective solution for a wide variety of temporary and permanent housing needs.
The building system consists of structural grade steel and an inner core of expanded polystyrene (EPS) with embedded G90 steel studs and covered with a fiberglass skin embedded on an epoxy matrix. Opposing steel framing members – staggered to create the thermal break – are bonded with rigid, fire-retardant EPS to form a composite building component panel that provides structural framing, insulation, sheathing and a vapor barrier all in one.
The system is used for sub-floors, interior and exterior walls, ceilings and roofs. Its manufactured panels are erected on the job site, followed with the application of exterior and interior finish systems.
While an ideal solution for many applications, VIP CEO Rusty Rice sees it as especially advantageous as emergency housing after natural disasters, military uses in building construction around the world and for contingency operations, as well as standard design build construction.
"This system is very easy to construct with a minimum amount of labor, and completely recyclable when it is no longer needed," says Rice. "It also can be fitted with solar panels, making the system even more sustainable through the use of solar energy."
VIP is now building a walk-through display of the system to be used for sales presentations in Las Vegas. The display will feature eight to 10 wall sections with door and windows, allowing visitors to walk around the panels and see their construction.
Some sections will have exterior siding and an interior finish to demonstrate the system's possibilities as a finished structure. To demonstrate its potential as military housing, an exterior wall section will have a protective ballistic material applied. A solar roof panel installation will demonstrate the additional "green" benefits of this advanced-technology structure. The display is scheduled to open in May.
Says Rice, "The display will demonstrate this system's advantages in cost savings, ease of construction and energy savings."