The number of people living in the urban areas is very high today and will in all probability increase in the future. City centres are the most coveted places to live in and this entails an increased interest for creation of more densely populated cities. One possibility to meet this demand is to add apartments to existing buildings, such as shopping centres, offices or multi-storey carparks by vertical extension. An important feature of extending existing buildings vertically is the usage of already developed infrastructure, land, resources such as existing buildings, roads, telecom infrastructure, sewage etc. When converting an established infrastructure, several constraints have to be considered in the planning process in order to minimise the disturbance on existing activities and to surroundings. The disturbance on existing activities and buildings can be minimised by shortening the construction time, using suitable materials and production methods. Light-gauge steel framing results in a very lightweight building compared with those of traditional materials. Thus, this makes Light-gauge Steel Framing suitable for vertical extensions of existing buildings. Further the materials used in the system, steel, plaster boards and mineral wool, are inorganic and hence the risk for problems with moisture and mould is very small This paper has the aim to describe how vertically extending buildings with light steel framing can open new ways for sustainable urban development.
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