Students Use Concrete for Innovative Design

Concrete's versatility and the ability to recycle not just the material, but the concrete structures as well, was highlighted during the fourth annual Concrete Thinking for a Sustainable World student design competition (see below).

Brodie Bricker, Akira Hirosawa, and Marc Rutzen, from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, won first place in the transit hub category.  The team converted an existing concrete parking structure along commuter train lines in Chicago into a biking center.

The center integrates biking and light-rail mass transit while providing easy bike-to-train transition, convenient bike rental service,and a nice place to relax and socialize for bicycle commuters.

The team’s project was praised by jurors for “carving into the existing urban fabric to integrate the new solution highlights the durability and adaptability that the concrete structures offer.”

The competition is sponsored by PCA and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and administered by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. More than 300 students from 55 architecture schools around the world competed. 

Student Design Competition Winners Chosen

Student architects from around the world shared their vision for environmentally friendly uses of cement-based products in the fourth annual Concrete Thinking for A Sustainable World competition.

More than 300 students from 55 architecture schools around the world competed.  Students either designed an environmentally responsible public transportation center focusing on architectural innovations to preserve tomorrow’s resources or created  a single element of a building that provides a sustainable solution to real-world environmental challenges.

A team from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana won first place in the transit center category (see Project of the Week). The building element category, won by at team from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, used tensile membranes to create a reusable concrete form.

The competition is sponsored by PCA and the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association and administered by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Winning students, their faculty sponsors, and schools will receive cash prizes and software totaling nearly $50,000. Included in the prize package is StructurePoint©, concrete design software, with a retail value of nearly $10,000.

Prize-winning projects will be displayed at the 2010 ACSA Annual Meeting in New Orleans and at the 2010 American Institute of Architects Convention in Miami. In addition, the projects will be published on an online Competition Summary Web site in fall 2009.
More at www.cement.org/newsroom
Contact Dave Shepherd

Global Economic Distress Expected to
Stabilize in 2010

World cement consumption is expected to decline 1.7 percent in 2009, a modest decline cushioned by a roughly four percent growth in utilization by China and India.

According to a recent report by the Portland Cement Association (PCA), gains in China and India, which together account for 58 percent of the world’s cement consumption, will mask the harsh drops predicted for many of the world’s cement markets.  Among developed economies, consumption is anticipated to decline nearly 16 percent during 2009.

Although world governments are engaged in massive stimulus programs, early projects most likely will be low in cement intensities.  Jobs such as bridge work, which has higher cement intensities but longer design times, will materialize full force in 2010, when worldwide, cement consumption will yield a 3.7 percent gain.

PCA predicts continued worldwide growth rates of 7.7 percent and 6.9 percent in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
Contact Ed Sullivan

Concrete Pavement Wins on
First Cost in New Mexico

In a departure from recent history, the New Mexico Department of Transportation has selected concrete pavement for the reconstruction of Highway 64 near Clayton, N.M.   The concrete pavement alternative was bid at $16.3 million, about $311,000 less than the lowest asphalt alternative. 

PCA-Rocky Mountain Cement Council successfully assisted the DOT with making several changes to the specifications, which leveled the playing field between the asphalt and concrete alternatives.  The project, which will be constructed by Montoya Construction, will be built this summer and will require 12,000 tons of portland cement.

Concrete pavement has long been acknowledged as more durable and less expensive than asphalt in terms of life-cycle cost. Now, rising asphalt prices are making concrete more competitive on an initial cost basis as well.
Contact Don Clem

Seminar Explores International Uses of RCC

The Florida Concrete & Products Association will host “Roller/Paver Compacted Concrete,” on July 24 in Hollywood, Fla.  The seminar will provide the latest information on applications of roller-compacted concrete (RCC) and conventional concrete for highways, streets, ports, and industrial facilities.

Presentations include paving authorities from the United States, Europe and Central America.  The course will discuss all aspects of design, quality construction, materials, and testing as well as a panel discussion that will focus on opportunities for RCC and conventional concrete applications.
                                                                                                    
The course is sponsored by the PCA, Federal Highway Administration, American Concrete Institute, International Society for Concrete Pavements, European Concrete Paving Association (EUPAVE), and InterAmerican Federation of Cement (FICEM/APCAC)
Visit the Conferences and Training section of www.cement.org/pavements for more information

Waller Achieves LEED Accreditation

Stew Waller, executive director of the Arizona Cement Association, has become an accredited professional under the LEED system of measuring the environmental integrity of buildings.

A rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED—short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—has emerged as the standard for sustainable development. To become accredited, candidates pass a test demonstrating their knowledge of LEED and of green building practices.
Contact Stew Waller

PCA Active in Social Media Arenas

PCA is engaged in several social media venues to further the reach of its resources and activities.

PCA’s LinkedIn Group provides information and discussion on concrete’s sustainable attributes in all aspects of construction—homes, buildings, infrastructure, and more. In addition, the Group provides information on concrete design, construction, and cement production. LinkedIn is an online network of experienced professionals throughout the world.  Users are able to create a profile summarizing professional accomplishments and to find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners.

PCA, under the handle @ConcreteThinker, also participates on Twitter.  Twitter is a micro-blogging site that is fast becoming a powerful tool for communication.  Through targeted searches, PCA is able to answer technical and promotional questions about cement and concrete and share the availability of its resources.

More than 475 LinkedIn members are part of the PCA page and the Twitter page has more than 900 followers.

To build upon this momentum, PCA has developed a fan page on Facebook. Similar to LinkedIn, PCA’s Facebook page is an open forum for information and discussion on all aspects of concrete construction—homes, buildings, infrastructure, and more.  All of PCA’s “tweets,” messages sent through Twitter, can also be viewed from the Facebook page and future plans include linking the page to PCA’s YouTube channel.
Join the PCA LinkedIn Group
Become a PCA “fan” on Facebook