As one of the first multi-housing projects in Minnesota to receive certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED guidelines, E² City Homes in Minneapolis serves as a model for green building. The project utilizes insulating concrete forms (ICF) walls for both sound resistance and energy efficiency.

Part of the Urban Project, a forward-thinking green development company, the name E² City Homes refers to economics (the savings occupants will see in their energy bills) and environment (sustainable buildings made with eco-friendly construction materials).

ICFs became a viable building material option for the 12,375 square foot two-story, four-unit complex and was a direct contribution to LEED points.  Although the initial intention was to only use ICFs for the partition walls, the Urban Project opted to use them for the exterior walls as well once they were educated on the energy-efficiency gains. 

Other green features include an energy recovery ventilator that preheats incoming air for efficiency and improves indoor air quality; high performance faucets and fixtures; a geothermal heat pump that uses no fossil fuels for heating and cooling and Energy Star™ rated windows and doors.

Completed in the spring of 2007, E² City Homes recently was honored by the National Commercial Builders Council of the National Association of Home Builders in the 2008 Awards of Excellence Competition.

Reward Wall Systems ICFs were used on the project. Cemstone Contractor Supply and Concrete Creations contributed to the ICF building envelope.

Cement Americas Features Interview with
PCA's Brian McCarthy

The November/December issue of Cement Americas features an extensive interview with PCA President/CEO Brian McCarthy. In the interview, he discusses the impact of sustainability on the industry and association, the current slow-down, and his plans to address these and other issues.

The complete interview is available on Cement America's Web site.
Visit cementamericas.com

Registration Now Open for 2008 National Concrete Bridge Conference

The National Concrete Bridge Council will host the 2008 Concrete Bridge Conference (CBC) scheduled for May 4-7, 2008, in St. Louis, Mo. This event is the premier national venue for the exchange of ideas and information on all aspects of concrete bridge design and construction.

Co-sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, the Missouri Department of Transportation and the American Concrete Institute, the CBC will be held in conjunction with the Post-Tensioning Institute’s (PTI) 2008 Conference and Exhibition. Concrete industry experts will present several papers on state-of-the-art topics fresh from design boards, research laboratories, and construction sites.

Registration is concurrent with the PTI Conference and Exposition.
Register online at www.nationalconcretebridge.org

PCA Names Novak to Head Building Promotion

PCA has appointed Lawrence C. Novak SE, SECB, LEED AP, as manager, buildings and special structures.   He and his staff will consult with engineers, architects, and contractors to directly promote the use of concrete and cement for buildings, stadiums, environmental, and other structures throughout the United States. 

Novak brings to PCA more than 20 years of experience as a structural engineer on some of the world’s most prominent buildings.  Most recently as an associate partner with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, he served as the senior project engineer responsible for the structural design of the Burh Dubai Tower, the world’s tallest building.  Novak has also been involved with the design of Trump Tower Chicago, Arlington Park Racetrack, and the renowned Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

Novak currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois where he chairs the Publication Committee.  He is the founding Board of Director of the Illinois Engineering Hall of Fame and is a voting member of ACI-209, Creep and Shrinkage, ACI-445-A on Strut and Tie, and the American Institute of Steel Construction’s Seismic Connections Committee.

He received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science civil engineering degrees from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Cement Council of Texas Names Prusinski
Executive Director

The Cement Council of Texas (CCT) named Jan R. Prusinski, P.E., LEED AP, as executive director, effective January 1, 2008.

Prusinski has more than a decade of experience in cement-related promotion.  He most recently served as the first executive director for the Slag Cement Association.  During his leadership, the use of slag cement increased more than 75 percent.  Prior to that position, he was the program manager for soil cement/RCC pavements at PCA.

Additionally, Prusinski helped develop new applications and markets for Houston Lighting & Power Company's coal combustion byproducts; and he served as a structural engineer for Bechtel Power Corporation.

Prusinski succeeds Robert V. Lopez, P.E., who retired at the end of 2007 after the serving as CCT executive director since 1993.

Optimizing the Use of Fly Ash in Concrete: This report covers issues related to using low to very high levels of fly ash in concrete and provides guidance for its use without compromising the construction process or the quality of the finished product. The nature of fly ash, including physical, mineralogical, and chemical properties is covered in detail, as well as fly ash variability due to coal composition and plant operating conditions. It also discusses the effects of fly ash characteristics on fresh and hardened concrete properties (IS548; $20.00, less discount, for printed copies; PDF is $13.00, free to PCA members).
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Mitigating Alkali Silica Reaction in Concrete With Supplementary Cementing Materials When Used in Conjunction With Portland Cements Having Alkali Contents In Excess of 1.0%: With increasing environmental pressure for cement producers to minimize waste kiln dust, the trend is towards higher alkali cements, and several now exceed the current standard addressing alkali-silica reactivity. The research was conducted to determine whether the current minimum SCM contents in CSA A23.2-27A need to be increased to account for the use of higher alkali cements. The report concludes that current SCM levels are sufficient to mitigate ASR (SN3023; PDF only; no charge).
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PCA Archival Literature, Vol. 1: This DVD compiles nearly 700 archived PCA technical publications. It includes historical editions of, Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures, starting with the first edition issued in 1925; and prior editions of Concrete Masonry Handbook for Architects, Engineers, Builders; Portland Cement Plaster (Stucco) Manual; and Concrete Floors on Ground (DVD024; $100.00, less discounts).
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Concrete Pavement Design, Construction, and Performance: Addressing the interactions between the different design and construction variables and techniques, this new book illustrates best practices for constructing economical, long-life concrete pavements. The author, N. Delatte, is an associate professor at Cleveland State University, former chairman of American Concrete Institute Committee 325 on Concrete Pavements, and a founding member of Committee 327 on Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements and Committee 522 Pervious Concrete. The book is published by Taylor & Francis (LT307; $120.00, no discount).
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Binders for Durable and Sustainable Concrete: The author, Aïtcin, professor emeritus at the University of Sherbrooke, challenges present assumptions and outlines measures that can make portland cement a more ecological material—for example, the addition of a small amount of specific polymers to reduce environmental impact. A special chapter highlights the many environmental advantages of concrete, the steady stream of improvements achieved in recent years, and finally presents the author’s vision of the ideal portland cement. The book is published by Taylor & Francis (LTL308; $159.00, no discount).
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Second Quarter 2007 Survey of Portland Cement Consumption by User Group: PCA’s Market Research department conducted a survey of portland cement consumption by user group. Cement company respondents provided the portland cement tonnage for the following markets: Brick & Block, Fiber Cement Siding, Concrete Pipe, Concrete Railroad Tie, Concrete Roof Tile, Oil & Gas Well Drilling, Packaged Concrete Products, Precast, RCC-Paving, RCC-Water Resources, Ready-Mixed Concrete, SC-Paving, SC-Water Resources, Streets & Highways Contractors, Waste Solidification & Stabilization, All Other Manufacturers and Contractors. (MR120; $1,000; PDF only; free to PCA members).
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Results from Last Week:

What concrete-related gift tops your list this holiday season?

>Snow globe with supplementary cementing materials: 26.8%

>Slump cone that doubles as an elf hat: 19.4%

>Concrete snowman lawn ornament: 32.8%

>Decorative concrete stamp depicting eight tiny reindeer: 19.4%

Take the current PCA Poll