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South Korean construction company Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. (Hyundai E&C) aims to unveil an apartment that incorporates all four of its residential innovation strategies by 2030. It will include reducing floor-to-floor noise, innovating indoor apartment spaces, using solar energy, and enhancing sleep and healthcare solutions, as per a report by Pulse, the English service of Maeil Business Newspaper Korea.
The company showcased demonstrations of these four strategies at its Mabuk R&D Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday. The most striking feature was the reduction of floor noise. Conventional apartments typically place Styrofoam insulation inside slab floors to help disperse vibrations and reduce noise, but this has clear limitations. Hyundai E&C uses layered shock-absorbing materials and high-density plaster instead to minimize sound transmission between floors. The cushioning material, made from a polyester-polyurethane compound, is soft and absorbs impact. It is placed on top of the slab, while high-density plaster made from ground steel slag replaces conventional aggregate, dispersing floor vibrations. "During the demonstrations at the R&D center, glasses of water placed on Hyundai E&C's Grade-1 flooring for inter-floor noise reduction showed no ripples under vibration, unlike those on ordinary floors. Even when a 75-kilogram adult stomped or jumped repeatedly on the floor above, almost no noise could be detected below," the report said. This Grade-1 noise-reduction flooring was first installed in Hyundai E&C's "THE H Daechi Edellui" apartment complex in Daechi-dong, Gangnam District, southern Seoul. While the company plans to expand its use, cost remains a challenge. "It is true that these floors are more expensive than conventional ones, to the point of impacting overall construction costs," Pulse quoted a company official. "But they remain more price-competitive than the equivalent Grade-1 flooring materials offered by competitors." Hyundai E&C is also developing a precast concrete (PC) Rahmen structure that eliminates load-bearing walls and relies only on beams and exterior columns to disperse vibrations more effectively. Branded "Neo Frame," this structure also allows for flexible rearrangement of rooms, enabling personalized living spaces. The "All-Life Care House" integrates various smart features via display-based controls. Its capabilities include exercise coaching and "Hey, Sleep," a system that automatically adjusts temperature, oxygen levels, humidity, and lighting to promote restful sleep. Meanwhile, the "Energy Care Solution" reduces electricity bills by using solar energy and employs a photo-plasma ventilation system that eliminates fine dust, bacteria, and viruses indoors. "We will implement our sleep-care and fall-prevention systems in apartment complexes by the end of 2025," Pulse quoted a senior official at Hyundai E&C's R&D center. "We also expect to launch a project that integrates all four of our residential innovation strategies, including Neo Frame, within five years." (ANI)
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