Building & Tunnel Formwork

An industrial system that casts wall and slab in a single pour, enabling a daily casting cycle.

Tunnel formwork is a half-tunnel shaped steel system that casts the shear wall and the slab in a single operation. In residential, hotel, dormitory and mass housing projects with repetitive floor layouts, it shortens construction time considerably.

How does the system work?

Two half-tunnels are positioned facing each other to form a room volume. Reinforcement is placed, concrete is poured in one operation, and the next day the formwork is stripped by crane and moved to the next axis. Because no cold joint forms between wall and slab, the structure behaves monolithically — which contributes directly to seismic performance.

The system establishes a regular cycle per floor. When the number of formwork sets and the crane capacity are planned correctly, a daily casting rhythm becomes achievable. At Acer we dimension tunnel formwork according to your floor plan and pouring scenario.

Key features

Monolithic wall-and-slab casting with no cold joint
Smooth concrete surface that generally requires no rendering
High reuse count, reducing cost per square metre
Integrated lifting points for stripping and handling
Working platform, guardrails and façade scaffold designed as one system
Adjustable floor height and span options

Where is it used?

Mass housing and residential compound projects
Hotels and student dormitories
Military housing and public residential projects
Any reinforced concrete structure with a repetitive floor plan

Technical notes

Values are determined per project; the ranges below are typical.

Frame: Welded steel profile load-bearing skeleton
Forming face: Steel plate, thickness selected per project
Floor height: Adjustable, project specific
Stripping method: Horizontal pull and lift by tower crane
Surface treatment: Shot blasting + industrial coating
Accessories: Working platform, guardrail, façade scaffold, adjustment mechanisms

Gallery

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SSS

The deciding factor is not floor area but repetition. Where the same floor plan repeats many times, the system pays for itself quickly. For low-rise buildings with constantly changing layouts, panel formwork systems may be more suitable.

Yes. Tunnel formwork is designed to be stripped and moved by crane. Crane capacity and position must be planned together with the formwork dimensioning.

With a well-maintained steel mould the resulting surface usually requires no render and is ready for direct plaster or paint application. This saves both rough rendering labour and time.