A Discussion on Reinforcement Measures and Application Techniques for Hollow-Out GRC Shapes

Empowering artistic forms with technology, safeguarding architectural safety through engineering — innovative practices and full-cycle solutions for hollowed-out GRC

In contemporary architectural design, hollowed-out GRC forms, with their light and translucent artistic expressiveness, have become the finishing touch of landmark buildings, commercial complexes, and cultural venues. However, while complex hollowed-out structures endow buildings with aesthetic value, they also pose severe challenges to material performance, detailed design, and construction techniques. As an industry leader with 28 years of full-chain experience in UHPC/GRC/GRG/GRP materials, Qinglong Group has always taken "creating beautiful architecture" as its mission. Through technological innovation and engineering practice, it has built a systematic enhancement solution for hollowed-out GRC forms spanning design to operation and maintenance, providing designers and owners with professional solutions that combine safety and aesthetics.

I. Performance Enhancement Technologies for Hollowed-Out GRC Forms: Dual Breakthroughs from Materials to Structure

The core challenge of hollowed-out GRC lies in balancing "form complexity" with "structural safety". Through material formulation optimization and structural design innovation, Qinglong has achieved technological breakthroughs: at the material level, high-purity alkali-resistant glass fiber is combined with special cement, together with independently developed additives, raising the flexural strength of GRC components to above 20 MPa — 30% higher than the industry standard; at the structural level, BIM technology is applied for parametric modeling, and finite element analysis is used to optimize the hollowing rate and rib layout, ensuring that when the minimum wall thickness of hollowed-out areas is controlled at 50 mm or above, wind pressure resistance and seismic requirements are still met. Taking a cultural center project in Nanjing as an example, the 2,000 ㎡ hollowed-out auspicious cloud form at its top successfully reduced self-weight by 40% through a combined solution of "honeycomb internal support + prestressed anchor rods", while passing the Category 12 typhoon load simulation test.

II. Full-Process Quality Control: Ensuring Precise Delivery of Hollowed-Out GRC

From detailed design to construction and installation, Qinglong has established a full-chain control system covering "design-production-installation-maintenance". In the design phase, relying on the R&D strength of the provincial engineering technology center, Rhino + Grasshopper is used for parametric segmentation, converting complex curved surfaces into producible modular units; in production, automated spray molding technology combined with 3D scanning inspection ensures component dimensional tolerances of ≤2 mm; during installation, 3D laser positioning technology achieves "millimeter-level" joining, while RFID chip implantation technology is applied to provide traceable data for later maintenance. This full-process control capability enabled Qinglong to achieve "mirror-level" alignment between hollowed-out GRC and glass curtain walls in projects such as the Dongguan Women and Children's Activity Center, winning the Silver Award of the first GRC Building Engineering Innovation Award.

III. Innovative Applications of Hollowed-Out GRC: Value Extension from Function to Aesthetics

The application scenarios of hollowed-out GRC are constantly expanding. In a commercial complex project in Guangzhou, Qinglong combined hollowed-out forms with daylighting and ventilation functions to create an adjustable-angle dynamic shading system that lowers indoor temperature by 3-5℃ in summer; in a cultural tourism project in Saudi Arabia, customized hollowed-out textures delivered a modern interpretation of traditional Arabic patterns, both meeting local cultural expression needs and reducing transportation and installation costs through material lightweighting. These cases demonstrate the synergistic advantages of hollowed-out GRC across the three dimensions of "function-aesthetics-cost" and showcase Qinglong's technology integration capability as a national SRDI (Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and Innovative) enterprise.

As a member of the International GRC Association and a participant in industry standard-setting, Qinglong firmly believes that technological innovation is the core guarantee for the safe delivery of hollowed-out GRC forms. Moving forward, guided by our values of "honesty, dedication, trust, and collaboration", we will continue to deepen technical collaboration with designers and owners, promote the innovative application of hollowed-out GRC in more high-end architectural scenarios, and make every hollowed-out detail a perfect fusion of safety and aesthetics.