Economical Concrete Floor System Supports New FDA Headquarters

The $900 million Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters recently completed in Montgomery, Md.; will consolidate all the agency’s services andmore than 6,000 employees into a state-of-the-art campus consisting of more than 2 million square feet of space in 12 buildings.

The design team identified cast-in-place concrete floors as the most economical floor system that could meet the stringent vibration requirements to operate modern laboratories. Typical office areas consist of 8” flat slabs and 8” drop panels at the standard 24”x 24” columns, while the core areas utilize one-way slab on beam construction. Perimeter spandrel beams support the exterior brick façade, and provide the necessary strength to accommodate GSA’s progressive collapse requirements. Lateral loads due to seismic forces are resisted primarily by the rigid frame action of perimeter spandrel frames and the rigid frames created within core areas.

The project was awarded by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA/National Capitol Region) and was designed and constructed by its Design Excellence Program. The GSA Design Excellence Program, which is administered by the Office of the Chief Architect, stresses creativity and is intended to ensure top-quality design and construction for all GSA’s building projects. More.

Concrete frame buildings offer maximum flexibility in bandwith-driven, networked office environments. For more examples of concrete office buildings, click here.

Record Cement Demand Predicted after Hurricane Katrina

Analysts predict rebuilding the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina will push cement consumption even higher then current record levels. Experts estimate that rebuilding New Orleans will require at least 4 million tons of cement during the next four to five years. However, disruption to the cement supply due to port closures in New Orleans is expected to have a minimal effect.
News Release
Q&A
Full report on the effects of Katrina on cement supply and demand (PDF).

Tilt-Up Concrete Mania Heats up

Building on the theme of "Tilt-Up 4 Today: Energy, Environment, Economy, Efficiency," the first annual Tilt-Up Convention will be held October 12-15 at the Grand Hyatt in Atlanta. Tilt-Up 4 Today will feature intensive training and education seminars for contractors and engineers, as well as a trade show, building tour, Tilt-Up Supervisor's Certification exam, and a focused session on marketing and architectural design. More.

Tilt-up aesthetics, beyond the big box, have progressed along two paths. One uses embedded products, form liners, and post applied treatments to replicate other building materials and styles. Thin brick, thin block, and applications using exterior insulation finishing systems are examples of these treatments. For more examples of tilt-up concrete in action, click here.

The Tilt-Up Construction and Engineering Manual - 6th Edition
This manual is the leading resource of information on Tilt-Up design and construction as it is practiced today. This 6th edition has been revised to reflect feedback from a wide variety of experts throughout the industry, and also includes a considerable amount of new materials. Published by Tilt-Up Concrete Association, 2005, 360 pages.

Economical Formwork Considerations

The second Novice Series article published in Concrete International focuses on formwork considerations. “The key to designing an economical, reinforced concrete structure is not necessarily through optimization of the in-place materials. Rather, the key is constructibility—successful design must include consideration of the building process itself.”

Formwork comprises more than 50 percent of the total structural frame cost for a concrete building. With that in mind, optimizing the formwork will have the greatest influence on the overall economy for the structure. Formwork can be economized by following 3 basic principles: 1.Simplify, 2.Standardize, 3.Repeat. More.

New Location for ACI Fall convention
The ACI Fall 2005 Convention has been relocated from New Orleans to Kansas City, Mo., November 6-10, 2005. More.

2005 Professional Design-Build Conference
November 8-10, Las Vegas, Nev.
Conference presenters will provide cutting edge knowledge as well as innovative, replicable, and effective strategies, tools and tactics to help industry professionals successfully implement integrated projects.

Greenbuild International Conference & Expo
November 9-11, 2005, Atlanta, Ga.
Thousands of green building industry professionals will come together to learn about the latest advancements in green building design, construction, project financing and building management.

World of Concrete/World of Masonry
January 16-20, 2006, Las Vegas Nev.
The largest show in concrete features 1,600 exhibitors, 1.3 million square feet of demonstration space, and more than 125 seminars and conference sessions.
Click here for free registration.

pcaColumn Release Enhances Networking

A pcaColumn v3.64 update was recently released. Among other improvements, it includes network licensing options that will be useful to customers sharing their applications in a network environment spread among multiple offices. Click here to read update note.

pcaColumn is a design and investigation software for reinforced concrete column, pier and wall sections under axial load and biaxial moment. The section considered can be rectangular, round or irregular and may contain an opening. With any reinforcement layout or pattern pcaColumn can investigate sections that are impossible to find in design charts. More.

For more on pcaStructurePoint concrete software solutions, click here.

PCA Comments at NIST Investigation

At the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Technical Conference on the Federal Buildings and Fire Safety Investigation of the World Trade Center Disaster, Gaithersburg, Md., September 13-15, PCA provided comments on NIST recommendations for design and construction of buildings more than 20 stories in height. More.

PCA/PTI Fundamentals of Post-Tensioning—Design, Analysis, & Construction
Gain a basic understanding of post-tensioning design and construction concepts as applied to elevated structures. Coming to New York, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Detroit, Columbia, and Charlotte this fall. More.

ACI/PCA One-Day Seminars on Changes in the ACI 318-05 Building Code
Attend this seminar to learn the new Code provisions and how to implement them correctly in your day-to-day work. More.

NRMCA's Concrete and Sustainable Design Online Learning Seminar
This program provides an introduction to the LEED Green Building Rating System and a detailed description of how concrete plays an integral role in green building design and construction. More.

Get Free R&D Reports for a Limited Time
Reap the benefits of our house cleaning and get free copies of selected PCA R&D reports. Shipping charges may apply. Click here for the list of reports and order form.

Building Movements and Joints to be Discontinued
Learn the causes and control measures commonly employed for durable and weather-proof buildings made from concrete and masonry. This classic publication on preventing cracks in buildings is going out of print. More.
Call Customer Service at 800.868.6733 for your free copy. (Offer good while supply lasts.)