OSU's School of Architecture: A Learning Experience

The Ohio State University’s Knowlton Hall is much more than a new home for the Austin E. Knowlton School of Architecture. A showcase for architectural possibilities, Knowlton Hall serves as a stimulating learning environment for its students. The new facility brings together the three main disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, and city and regional planning, which had previously been housed among several scattered, outdated buildings across the campus. The four-story, $32-million Knowlton Hall provides a modern, 168,000-square-foot facility containing classrooms, an auditorium, a 30,000-volume library, assembly spaces, faculty offices, and studio spaces for more than 600 students and faculty who use the building on a daily basis.

The architect’s vision for dramatic structure, unique forms and interaction between spaces to create a feeling of connection for the occupants could not have been achieved without the use of concrete. The project includes nearly 7,000 cubic yards of mild steel-reinforced concrete walls, columns, caissons, grade beams, and slabs-on-ground, and 8,000 cubic yards of post-tensioned elevated concrete slabs. More.

Concrete is becoming a preferred building material for educational institutions. For new projects, work could begin sooner with concrete frame construction because it does not require much detailing and fabrication. In addition, concrete floors allow flexibility for future expansion and modifications. Concrete frames are inherently fireproof and help in vibration control which is usually needed for educational laboratories and test facilities. Read more case studies on educational institutions .

Concrete Creates New Opportunities In Chicago

A project in Chicago’s West Garfield Park is helping to revitalize the neighborhood by bringing much-needed daycare, employment assistance, computer training, retail, financial services, and office space and uniting it with a recently renovated “El” station linking the community to the rest of the city.

The Bethel Center provides the neighborhood with an anchor around which a more sustainable community can be crafted. Concrete is a core component of the structure, which strives for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. More.

High-Strength Concrete and Fire

It is vital that buildings be capable of protecting people and property against the hazards of fire. Concrete, as the most commonly used building material, has a major role to play in resisting fires. When exposed to fire, normal strength concrete performs well in an engineered structure, but how does high-strength concrete behave? This article is intended to provide state-of-the-art information on this crucial subject. More.

Pyramids are Really Concrete

The New York Times reports that a scientist from Drexel University has concluded that the Great Pyramids of Egypt were made of cast concrete blocks rather than quarried and cut limestone.

Materials engineering Professor Michel W. Barsoum found evidence that Egyptians used concrete blocks for the massive monuments beginning at around 2550 B.C., making the pyramids the earliest and most enduring example of concrete construction. The study was published in The Journal of the American Ceramic Society. More.

New Versions of pcaSlab and pcaBeam Available

pcaStructurePoint has recently released version 2.0 of the pcaSlab and pcaBeam programs for analysis, design, and investigation of elevated reinforced concrete beams, one-way and two-way slab systems. Both programs are upgraded to support ACI 318-05 concrete design standard.

More about software products available from pcaStructurePoint.

Analysis of Revisions to the 2006 IBC Structural Provisions
This publication provides an analysis of the changes to the 2006 International Building Code (IBC) structural provisions (Chapters 16 through 23) which were approved by the ICC membership at the annual conferences in 2004 and 2005.

2006 International Building Code
Published by the International Code Council, the 680-page soft cover 2006 International Building Code contains time-tested safety concepts. The Code covers structural design, fire and life safety provisions including means of egress, interior finish requirements, comprehensive roof provisions, seismic engineering provisions, innovative construction technology, occupancy classifications, and the latest industry standards in design for different materials.

Mass Concrete

Mass concrete brings with it many challenges, among them the generation of high heat and problems that can stem from it. While creating these projects can be difficult, careful design of mass concrete can minimize or eliminate issues, and new research points to approaches that will allow the creation of bigger projects than ever before possible. More.

As part of the Professional Development Series in Structural Engineer, PCA has written a new article on mass concrete. To help fulfill your continuing education requirements, read the articles and take the quiz.

Other topics and quizzes in the PCA professional development series:

• Post Tensioning for Two-Way Slabs


• Reinforced Concrete Floor Systems


• Structural Integrity Requirements

Designing High Performance Concrete Structures

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) have teamed together to offer a new 2-day seminar on how to design and build high-performance concrete structures exposed to harsh environments such as bridges, roadways, plazas, parking structures, marine structures or any structure with exposed concrete. More.

Simplified Design of Concrete Buildings of Moderate Size and Height

This one-day ACI/PCA Seminar seminar will focus on the design of concrete buildings of moderate size and height, in accordance with the latest information in ACI 318-05, IBC 2003, and ASCE 7-02. More.

• Las Vegas, Nev.– April 18 2007


• Milwaukee, Wis.– April 3, 2007


• New York, N.Y. – June 13, 2007


• San Antonio, Texas– May 10, 2007


• Tampa, Fla.– May 22, 2007

Upcoming Conventions

National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) Annual Convention
February 20-24, 2007, Orlando, Fla.

Manufactured Concrete Products Exposition (MCPX)
February 22-24, 2007, Orlando, Fla.

ACI Spring Convention
April 22-26, 2007, Atlanta, Ga.