Overcoming a challenging environment and implementing extravagant architectural ideas and modern designs, which multiply the demands for individual and innovative formwork solutions are a few of the challenges faced in today’s construction industry, says formwork specialist Doka.

“Modern architectural designs feature novel shapes with visible concrete surfaces, which require a high level of experience and cooperation among the parties involved, starting from the architects, design engineers, up to the formwork specialists and concrete suppliers,” says a spokesman for the leading formwork manufacturer. “As it is one of the key constituents for shaping and designing concrete surfaces, formwork has become the most important consideration in the successful finalisation of projects.”
Elaborating further he continues: “Fair-faced concrete is a delicate surface with distinctive characteristics, which are conditioned (mainly) by three essential factors: the choice of the appropriate formwork system, the right concrete recipe, and the competent treatment and handling of both parts in a symbiotic manner.
“Doka’s special concern in the field of concrete surfaces can be underlined by the fact that all of its research follows the idea – concrete surfaces are the mirror image of the form-ply,” says the spokesman. “It is this thinking that has enabled the company to provide the right formwork equipment for all the types of construction works and particular requirements, especially for visible concrete surfaces.”
“During the design and drafting of fair-faced concrete surfaces for structures, the choice of the adequate formwork solution is crucial for both technical and economical reasons. This helps ascertain whether a system formwork (framed or timber-beam) should be used, or if a project-specific solution will be required.
“Coupled with this, a high usability, flexible handling and short forming-times have made Doka timber beam system formworks extremely efficient and expedient for the creation of fair-faced concrete surfaces.”
The Doka large-area Top 50 formwork panels are job-built elements based on the use of H20 timber beams (typically providing support for the panel in vertical direction) and WS10/12 steel walers- (typically running in horizontal direction). Large-area formwork Top 50 offers a free choice of sheeting, in addition to the adaptability to any structural geometry. It is ideal for all projects in which the surface of the concrete must comply with particularly high requirements.
“Top 50 is the formwork of choice for a large range of different requirements due to its high flexibility in the disposition of tie locations, its required design load (permissible formwork pressure), its flexible use at different plan layouts, shapes of structures, and options for use of any kind of plywood or formwork facing,” the spokesman says.
Typically the panels are assembled into crane lifted units at the construction site and supported and held in position by one of Doka’s various types of support platforms or panel support struts.

Decades of experience
The completion of numerous, unprecedented projects worldwide has made Doka “The Formwork Experts” and one of the world’s leading formwork suppliers, says the spokesman. “The needs, preferences, and requirements of every singular contractor and the technical studies pursued in each project, have made Doka an indispensable partner in making the best choice, which includes the planning of every detail involved in the shaping and designing of concrete, and the supply of formwork systems.”
Capitalising on its experience of over 130 years with working on construction projects spanning the entire architectural spectrum, the company has designed a modular system that would offer the ideal climbing formwork solution. Both systems, crane-lifted or crane-independent, bring in ultra-high safety standards in combination with maximised cost-effectiveness and safe handling. The climbing formwork MF240 is a crane-lifted climbing formwork for structures of any shape and any angle of inclination. The main components of MF240 climbing platforms are single frame climbing brackets fixed as climbing units with integrated roll-back frames, which can be arranged in a very flexible manner to meet the requirement of varying plan layouts and shapes. They are anchored into the concrete by means of universal climbing cones and lost embedded anchor. In longitudinal direction H20 timber beams are the main members of the working platforms.
Top 50 wall formwork panels are connected to the vertical walers of the roll-back frames and the formwork can be operated without the use of a crane. Additional levels of platforms are provided on top of the wall formwork (pouring platforms) and below the main platform level (trailing platform, e.g. for concrete finishing work).
Both the Top 50 wall formwork panel and the climbing platforms can be lifted by crane as a single unit from one pour level to the next. The Top 50 is being widely and successfully used in projects in the Middle East, including residential building, industrial, and infrastructural construction, he says.

Fast forming
To meet an increasing demand for fast-forming sequences and high-performance formwork on large-area walls, Doka offers its Framax Xlife system developed for extremely long usage. Framax Xlife uses only a few different sizes of matching panels, achieving a continuous 15-cm grid and ensuring best possible utilisation, maximising its re-use cycles as well as the quality of the smooth concrete surfaces due to the innovative plastic coating of the plywood sheet. This framed formwork is a perfect solution for casting high walls in a very short time and can also be used for columns, circular formwork, and foundations, says the spokesman.
For small areas and foundations Doka uses the handy small-panel formwork Frami. The panel frames are made of resistant steel sections with an integrated long-life plywood, and are inherently torsionally rigid without additional bracing. The high-grade hot-dip galvanisation ensures extra durability. Frami panels of different sizes make up a complete system easily manageable by hand and strong enough to be used as crane-lift formwork. The extremely stable design of the panels is fitted to produce smooth concrete surfaces.
“Doka’s extensive expertise is not only limited to its innovative products and systems but is also reflected in the many different ways, the company assists in each phase of raising a fair-faced concrete structure,” the spokesman says. “Starting from the counselling regarding the pre-selection of possible formwork systems, through developing customized solutions, the planning of formwork cycle sequences, up to providing on-site services and inspections, Doka experts participate in the whole construction process. Together, with Doka as a dependable partner, the contractors can work towards success and are never left alone in their tasks and the correct use of the applied formworks. Factors such as weathering, site operations, concrete recipe, and application, as well as many others aspects play a key role in the construction process. Doka always remembers that fair-faced concrete is a team assignment, requiring a committed effort by everyone involved. Once the formwork, the release-agent, the concrete recipe, and placement mode have been coordinated with one another, great results become an attainable goal.”