Iform Bitzua: Industrialized Construction in Cast in Place Concrete

What the method is

In conventional construction, concrete is poured into wood or steel forms and the forms are then stripped away. In the iForm method the form is made of perforated and folded steel sheet, pre assembled with reinforcement steel, gypsum boards, thermal insulation, openings, plumbing and electrical, and it stays in place after the pour as the substrate for interior and exterior finishes. The perforated sheet allows free concrete flow between components, so a monolithic continuum is formed rather than a joint between separate units.

What the method is not

The iForm method is not precast construction, not modular construction and not light steel framing. The concrete is cast on site and the finished component is a full code compliant reinforced concrete element, identical in standard to conventional construction.

Scope of application

Protected spaces of every type, stairwells, elevator shafts, insulated envelope walls, plumbing shaft walls, blast walls, walls carrying prestressed slabs, swimming pools, retaining walls, and walls on bored piles. In practice, any reinforced concrete wall for any purpose.

Regulatory record

The iForm method was approved by the Israeli Home Front Command as a construction method for protected spaces (approval no. 010590-3-4966). The approval was granted on the basis of a product file, a comparative gas tightness test carried out by the Standards Institution of Israel which found no difference between a wall executed with the method and a wall executed with wood forms, and a visit to the test site. The method developer joined the Standards Institution expert committee for Israeli standard 5075 between 2017 and 2021. On 04.03.2021 the standard was published with a clause governing the application of the method. In 2024 the preliminary examination of the method was completed at the Division for Examination and Approval of New Construction Methods at the National Building Research Institute. The method passed tests for gas tightness, radiation, ballistic testing, resistance to fresh concrete pressure, and conductivity.

Delivery record

More than 300 projects across Israel. Approximately 100 institutional protected spaces for schools, kindergartens and businesses. Approximately 160 residential protected spaces added to residential buildings. Approximately 300 residential protected spaces added to ground level homes. Five buildings in which the method was used for every structural component: columns, shear walls, stairwells, load bearing walls, plumbing shafts, elevator shafts and balconies. All projects received a form 4 occupancy permit and are occupied.

In 2018 a full feasibility demonstration was completed in a residential building in Ra'anana, where the method was applied to every construction component. The project structural engineer reviewed and approved the execution. Following the project, the method won first place out of 25 companies in a competition for innovation and ground breaking creativity in construction sites, at the decade conference of the Israel Green Building Council.

Engineering differentiation

First, design adaptability. Precast and modular construction require standardization of building components. The iForm method adapts itself to any architectural and engineering design, to any wall thickness, length and width.

Second, supply chain. The method is based on common raw materials and common production means, so there is no production ceiling created by dependence on a single plant or a rare component.

Third, joint stiffness. In modular construction the connector between units is the engineering weak point. In the iForm method the concrete is cast in place and forms a monolithic continuum, and structural components cast in place can be combined with pre made units in the same building.

What the method changes for a contractor or developer

A shift to early production and to parallel work streams on the project. No dependence on a crane for ongoing work. Reduced dependence on traditional manpower. Reduced uncertainty in labour cost. Lower safety risk on site. Weather impact on the schedule is neutralised. A small production floor area is sufficient. No initial capital outlay is required from the contractor. No design adaptations are required. Training time is short, some traditional structural trades are no longer required, and a wider range of work crews can take part in execution.

Corporate structure and leadership

Iform Bitzua is the execution company. Iform Technologies Ltd (company no. 516059045) holds the rights and the know how for applying the method. Zioni Dahan developed the method, holds registered patent no. 237036, and has approximately 30 years of experience in construction. David Cohen is chief executive and owner, with approximately 15 years of field experience.

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