New developments in concrete production have made concrete that is stronger and lighter than conventional concrete and has carbon capturing properties. According to the Whole Building Design Group, the goals of sustainable building design are: “To reduce, or completely avoid, depletion of critical resources like energy, water, land, and raw materials; prevent environmental degradation caused […]
Read MoreThe construction of the new 56-storey City Tower in London required 5,000 cubic metres of concrete for its basement raft. This was done in a continuous pour using 680 trucks. The pour was managed by Careys Civil engineering over a weekend 34-hour period. The operation was planned over three months in consultation with Transport for […]
Read MoreResearchers at ETH Zurich University have fabricated a lightweight concrete slab using 3D printing, which is the first time 3D-printed concrete has been used in a full scale architecture project. The 80 square metre slab is only 20mm thick at its thinnest point and forms a concrete ceiling with decoratively ribbing. The slab is the […]
Read MoreWith scientists reminding us that CO2 emissions are contributing to global warming, any reductions in emissions are welcome. The cement and concrete industries are finding ways to tackle this problem. The major ingredient of concrete is cement, and a lot of CO2 is produced during the manufacture of it. Major cement producers such as Heidelberg […]
Read MoreThere were six nominees for the 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize for the best of British architecture, which was handed out at the end of October. The winner, Hastings Pier, is notable for its imaginative use of wood, but many of the nominees for the prize relied on concrete to create stunning visual effects. This year’s […]
Read MoreStudents and researchers at Washington University have constructed an eco-house built mainly from concrete to demonstrate that the material can be used in sustainable ways. Crete House is a solar-powered building constructed almost entirely from precast concrete. Water coils embedded in the concrete flooring and ceiling provide heating and cooling. Large gutters provide shade and […]
Read MoreResearch is currently being undertaken to print 3D objects in concrete, perhaps literally paving the way for concrete flooring to be produced in an entirely different way. The building contractors Skanska is working with a number of partners to develop 3D printing of concrete. Loughborough University started researching 3D concrete printing in 2007 a year […]
Read MoreTarmac, a building materials and solutions firm based in the UK, has created a new type of concrete that has the ability to soak up a copious amount of water. This type of porous concrete is able to take in around 4,000 litres of water within the first 60 seconds, with an average intake of […]
Read MoreConstruction teams from the Merseylink Consortium have completed the most recent phase of building the Mersey Gateway Bridge, and have marked the occasion with a 24-hour concrete pour. The construction team saw a total of 1,400 cubic metres being poured during this timeframe, with the concrete acting as part of three pylons being installed to […]
Read MoreThe University of Exeter has marked a milestone in the construction of its new £52.5m facility with a topping-out ceremony. Members of the University staff and its partners, including representatives from BAM Construction, were present at the traditional ceremony that marked the construction of the building’s highest aspect, which measures at 40 meters. The building […]
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