|
Description: The information presented here makes an excellent case for the use of concrete for exterior walls: they are aesthetically pleasing, remain durable even after decades of exposure in an often harsh North American climate, and they require very little maintenance. Loaded with color photos and detailed descriptions of mix designs and construction techniques. Architects, contractors, and building owners, among others, will find this information useful when designing, building, or choosing the type of construction for new properties.
This report looks at architectural concrete for buildings: it speaks about the past with a detailed description of the construction of the PCA Display; it speaks about the present by assessing the panels’ performance after long term exposure and current innovations that are changing the industry; and it looks toward the future through design practices and environmental concerns that will undoubtedly shape the industry for many years to come.
The individual images used in this publication are available for purchase. To order, go to Image Library in the Bookstore.
This report is also found on DVD021.
In 1938 the Portland Cement Association established a small outdoor exhibit of architectural concrete made by the bond-transfer method. Also known as the aggregate-transfer method, this technique involved gluing an aggregate with an adhesive of moderate strength to a thin wooden liner secured to the inside of the forms. A few days after the concrete was cast, the forms and liners were removed and the aggregate remained embedded in the concrete, but with its surface exposed. This technique provided a means of obtaining exposed-aggregate concrete in colorful, intricate patterns and on surfaces of complex shape. This pioneer exhibit was dismantled in 2001; it stood for over 63 years as an example of the excellent durability of this type of architectural concrete.
In the early 1960s, the aggregate-transfer display was encircled with a new exhibit consisting of sixty 910x1520-mm (3x5-ft) concrete panels illustrating a wide variety of decorative finishes. Some of the techniques and materials employed had been in use for decades, while others were new at the time. The combined architectural concrete display offered visitors the opportunity to see in one location a wide range of architectural effects, and an opportunity to discuss the various production techniques employed. The display also provided an opportunity to study the long-term durability exposure of the panels to the relatively severe weather in the Skokie, Illinois area (near Chicago). With only a few exceptions, the appearance of these panels changed very little after more than 40 years of exposure to bright sun-light, wind, snow, acid rain, freezing and thawing, hot summers, and cold winters.
|