This week, construction professionals will gather in Denver for Greenbuild, the annual trade show of the U.S. Green Building Council. What should be the top priority for sustainable development or green building?
Take the PCA Poll
Seminar Showcases Concrete
The Evergreen State College, located on an idyllic, forested campus in Olympia, Wash., had not had a significant new building since the early 1970s. Seminar II changed that with a building taking advantage of concrete’s sustainable attributes to achieve LEED-NC, v2—Level: Gold.

Architect Anne Schopf created an attractive complex that required few additional materials for finishing and limited maintenance throughout its lifecycle. The team leveraged architectural concrete for walls and flooring to eliminate the VOCs and other pollutants common when using other materials. The ability to leave surfaces exposed also limited the amount of resources necessary to create the building.

Schopf used post-tensioned structural slabs for the finished ceilings, eliminating the need for beams in the structure and minimizing the overall height of the building. “We wanted to peel back and expose the surfaces of the building with architectural concrete and build with a sense of permanence,” she said.

In addition, concrete allowed the building to have superior thermal performance, enabling the College to regulate temperature without having to install cooling systems in over 80% of the building. The building also has a green roof.

Both Schopf and Seminar II Mosaic are featured in PCA's Concrete Thinker advertising series and Web site. (See below.)
More at ConcreteThinker.com

Webcast Forecast: Housing Drop Lowers Cement Outlook
The decline in housing coupled with a softening economy will translate into slower growth for construction and cement use, according to a November 8 Webcast by PCA Chief Economist Ed Sullivan.

In his 50-minute presentation, Sullivan covers economic factors affecting construction, the outlook for residential, commercial, and public works, and how the performance of these markets will impact cement and concrete.
More information or access the Webcast
Concrete Homes Increase Market Share in 2005
More and more homeowners are using cement-based products for their new homes. In 2005 concrete homes accounted for 17.9% of all new single-family detached housing starts, up from 16.3% in 2004, according to the most recent National Association of Home Builders’ Research Center’s Builder Practices Survey and PCA market research.

The report show that masonry gained almost 2% in 2005, while Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) remained steady. Autoclaved aerated concrete lost 0.1%. The “other” category, which groups removable forms, precast, and other concrete homebuilding systems, dropped 0.2%.

The market share for above-grade walls has shown an interesting pattern during the last several years. Since 1999 there have been significant jumps in odd-numbered years, while even-numbered years have posted only slight increases.

Cement intensity per dwelling grew at a higher-than-expected rate. More than 19 tons of cement per unit was used in 2005 compared to 18 tons in 2004. Some of this increase can be attributed to larger homes ,with the average size of a single-family house increasing nearly 5%. However, larger homes aren’t the only reason cement usage was up. Increases occurred in fiber-cement siding (+26,000 tons), concrete roof tile (+123,000 tons) and fencing/retaining walls (+74,000 tons). Market share for driveways remained stable.
Contact Craig Schulz
The Ranks of Concrete Thinkers Continue to Grow
Seattle-based Anne Schopf of Mahlum Architects is the latest architect to be featured in PCA's Concrete Thinker advertising series appearing in Architectural Record. The ads feature prominent architects who design in concrete to meet their sustainable development goals. The ad also profiles Schopf’s Seminar II, the first building to be built at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., in more than three decades. (See the project of the week above.)

Schopf is committed to strengthening communities through to the environmental impact of building design. Her philosophy is to create sustainable buildings that connect to their surroundings.
More at concretethinker.com
Bridge Design Seminar Addresses New Specifications
Starting October 1, 2007, all bridges receiving federal funding will have to be designed by the Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) specifications. PCA will conduct a one-day seminar on the design of concrete bridges by LRFD specifications on December 11, 2006, at its office in Skokie, Ill. The seminar will stress the new state-of-the-art design methods in the LRFD Specifications that are significantly different than in current specifications. The seminar attendees will be awarded 6.5 PDHs.
More information or to register
Wayne Wagner to Retire from Lehigh Inland
Wayne Wagner will retire from the Lehigh Inland on April 30, 2007, after more than 38 years with the organization. Jim Derkatch will succeed Wagner as President and Chief Operating Officer. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Lehigh Inland is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lehigh Cement in Canada including the operations of Lehigh Inland Cement Limited, Inland Aggregates limited, Inland Concrete Limited and Inland Pipe Limited. Wagner has served on the PCA Board of Directors since 1998 and is active in the Cement Association of Canada.
Moncion Joins Cement Association of Canada
Sylvie Moncion joined the Cement Association of Canada as director of communications in CAC's national office in Ottawa, Ontario.

Moncion brings more than 25 years of experience as a communications professional with organizations such as The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation, Elections Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint, and the National Arts Centre.
Mixed Messages in St. Louis: PCA's Michelle Wilson and Mike Collignon presented as part of the annual St. Louis P.E. Seminar, hosted by the Concrete Council of St. Louis. Wilson spoke on what designers need to know regarding concrete specifications and mix designs, while Collignon covered the safety benefits of concfrete homes. More than 120 engineers were in attendance and earned six hours of continuing education credits.

Rorabuagh Joins NWCP: Claude E. Rorabaugh has joined the Northwest Cement Producers Group as market development manager—Oregon. Rorabaugh’s responsibilities include private sector and public sector liaison functions. He was formerly vice-president of a national computer-based testing company specializing in building codes and state contractor exams and is active in local government.

Sustainable Concrete in Ames: PCA's David Shepherd presented "The Role of Concrete in Sustainable Construction" at the Better Concrete Conference sponsored by Iowa State University's department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering.
Results From Last Week:
Vocational Schools Key to Future of Construction Trades
Construction is not attracting the skilled labor force it needs. What's the best mechanism for recruiting and training new people for trades such as concrete finishing?
No. of responses (percent)

  • Vocational schools 26 (39.39%)
  • Industry groups and associations 13 (19.70%)
  • Union apprenticeship programs 13 (19.70%)
  • Immigration policies favoring workforce expansion 10 (15.15%)
  • Job Corps and other government programs 4 (6.06%)

Notable comments:

"Like it or not, immigrants will continue to be the best resource for construction labor in North America. The critical factor is to craft proper legislation that controls immigration and provides much needed labor resources at the same time."

"What kind of stupid choices are these to pick from? With good wages, secure jobs, good benefits to the people working today, there will be word of mouth and lifestyle results drawing them in."

"As a woman who worked in construction for several years (becoming a ticketed carpenter), I don't think the industry recruits enough women. We are dedicated and excellent folks to have working in the industry. The wages are much better than what women can make at many other jobs, so we are very committed. I think that actively recruiting women could fill a lot of the positions."

"High schools need to refocus from the premise that everyone needs a college education to the many who should not and will never attend college yet deserve to learn a trade so that they can make an honest living."

"Construction should be a field that attracts qualified people who like to build things. As an industry we need to get out and expose these attractive jobs to young adults. We also need to pay wages that keep these jobs attractive and honorable."

"Trades should be integrated in high schools as electives. That way students who did not want to attend college whould be ready to make a living in a trade."

Take this week's poll
PCA's education and training group will conduct the following courses at PCA's Skokie, Ill., facility. Customized and off-site courses are also available. For more information or to register, contact Julie Lisiecki.
Concrete: Principles & Practices
February 12-15, 2007 		Aggregates and Chemical Admixtures for Use in Concrete
March 5-6, 2007 		SCMs and Ternary Blends in Concrete
 March 7-8, 2007

Troubleshooting: Solutions to Concrete Field Problems
March 19-21, 2007

Mill Grinding
March 19-21, 2007

Kiln Process
March 26-29, 2007
Cement and Concrete Overview
April 16-17, 2007


 

Register Free Online

Las Vegas, Nevada
Exhibits: January 23-26
Seminars: January 22-26
National Concrete Masonry Association Annual Convention
February 20-24, 2007
Orlando, Fla.
More information

Manufactured Concrete Products Exposition
February 22-24, 2007
Orlando, Fla.
More information
Hardscape North America
March 7-10, 2007
Nashville, Tenn.
More Information

 

 
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The Portland Cement Association conducts market development,
research, education, and government affairs work on behalf of
its members—cement companies in the United States and Canada.