A frequent hallmark of impressive technical innovation is that at first glance it appears deceptively simple.

Another is that such innovation tends to be rapidly followed by the exclamation “Why didn’t I think of that?” The Angelina® beam is just such an example.

Angelina® beams are achieved by the apparently simple expedient of taking a standard I-section beam and making a single cut through the ‘web’ (the vertical member of the beam) following a specific wave-like line, using flame cutting. The resulting T-sections are then shifted relative to each other such that the wave-like edges periodically and regularly coincide. Welds are then made at those points, reuniting the two halves and resulting in the Angelina beam’s elegant and characteristic openings.

The process results in a product with three valuable benefits:

1. Because the manufacturing technique delivers a beam with a better resistance to pressure than an original beam of the same weight, Angelina® beams are relatively stronger yet lighter than conventional beams of the same size and steel grade. This enables longer, column-free spans of up to eighteen metres within buildings, which in turn permits improved flexibility of internal layout and so greater rental returns.
   
   
2. The openings in the beam webs mean that no further time and effort is needed for the layout of building services during construction. The arrangement of all pipes, ducts and electrics can take full advantage of the existing openings in the beams. Furthermore, the Angelina® beams allow future modification and retrofitting of building services without changes to the frame structure.
   
   
3. The variety of options available in terms of opening sizes and frequency gives architects a degree of flexibility that was previously unattainable.

Together with the light and elegant appearance of the product, these benefits mean that Angelina™ beams allow a new architectural expression. For more detail, click here