The Concrete Canvas Shelter is a rapidly deployable hardened shelter that requires only water and air for erection. It can be deployed by two people without any training in approximately thirty minutes and is ready to use in twelve hours. The shelter consists of a cement-impregnated fabric (Concrete Cloth) bonded to the outer surface of an inflatable plastic inner structure.
Prior to construction, the shelter is delivered folded in a sealed plastic sack. Once the sack is positioned and filled with water, the fiber matrix wicks water into the cement, naturally controlling the water-to-cement ratio. The sack is cut open after hydration, and a battery-driven fan inflates the inner plastic lining, causing the structure to lift. After a duration of twelve hours, the concrete will have set sufficiently for use.
The fibers of the Concrete Canvas fabric form a coherent matrix within the concrete, providing tensile reinforcement and helping prevent crack propagation. If desired, the shelter can be buried with over 0.5 meters of sand on the roof in order to provide increased insulation and protection. [Contact:
Peter Brewin, Northampton, UK.]
Labels: 13, concrete, shelter, ultraperforming
CarbonCast is a precast-concrete technology that uses a carbon-fiber grid for secondary reinforcing or shear transfer, depending on the application. Because carbon-fiber reinforcing resists corrosion, CarbonCast precast products require less concrete cover, resulting in added durability, lighter weight, and improved sustainability over traditional precast concrete. In addition, the reduction of concrete enables the integration of insulation, which can increase R-values of wall panels.
CarbonCast architectural cladding panels can weigh up to 66 percent less than conventional precast panels. This weight reduction permits engineers to reduce substructure or specify smaller cranes for lifting the panels into place. When used in the flanges of CarbonCast pretopped double tees, the carbon-fiber grid can reduce weight by 12 percent and eliminate the need for sealers and sacrificial barrier coatings. When used as a shear connector in CarbonCast high performance insulated wall panels, the carbon-fiber grid improves thermal performance, given its relatively low thermal conductivity. [Contact:
Altus Precast, Lancaster, PA]
Labels: 03, carbon fiber, concrete, reinforcing, ultraperforming
Luccon represents a new breed of light transmitting concrete. Unlike other versions that use acrylic rods or optical fibers, Luccon is comprised by translucent fabric cast layer by layer into fine-grained concrete in prefabricated molds. The result is a collection of fluid, organic lines captured within a sturdy panel.
Since the proportion of synthetic fibers to concrete is relatively low, and because the fibers have a small diameter, Luccon has the same strength and durability as conventional concrete. The virtually lossless light conduction allows light, shadows, and colors to project through the concrete with negligible degradation. [via Luccon; suggested by Karen Miller, Columbus]
Labels: 03, concrete, fabric, fiber, lighting, recombinant
Just when you think you've seen everything that can be done with concrete, along comes another surprise. Developed by Netherlands-based designers Frederik Molenschot and Susanne Happle, Solid Poetry is a concrete tile that reveals a pattern when wet. The floral patterns depicted here are the result of a carefully-applied surface treatment that reveals itself only when exposed to water or humid air.
Molenshot and Happle imagine their Solid Poetry tiles to be appropriate for gardens, poolsides, bathrooms, saunas, or any environment that encounters frequent humidity changes. Solid Poetry thus enhances environments with its additional aesthetic state that results from a rapid response to natural or user-driven stimuli. [via Peerswereld; suggested by Shawn Gehle, Los Angeles.]
Labels: 03, concrete, pattern, transformational, water, wet
In the United States there are 46,837 miles of highways with miles of sound barrier walls being erected daily to mitigate the negative impacts of highway systems on urban neighborhoods. At the same time, these transportation systems alone produce 1.4 billion tons of airborne pollution annually. With the increasing prominence of this additional component to our highway infrastructure, the public is beginning to demand a more appealing design solution to highway-generated air, sound, and light pollution.
In addition to mitigating sound and light pollution as present highway barrier systems do, the Superabsorber system also absorbs airborne pollutants. Designed by Douglas Hecker and Martha Skinner of Clemson-based FieldOffice, this innovative system has the potential to significantly reduce airborne pollution in urban areas with the application of photocatalytic cement products that have been demonstrated to reduce air pollution in urban areas by 50% when covering just 15% of urban surfaces. The inclusion of this surface application on future concrete barrier systems represents a significant amount of surface area for absorption of air pollution in urban areas. [via Field Office.]
Labels: 3, concrete, intelligent, transportation
The Concrete Canvas Shelter is a rapidly deployable hardened shelter that requires only water and air for erection. It can be deployed by two people without any training in approximately thirty minutes and is ready to use in twelve hours. The shelter consists of a cement-impregnated fabric (Concrete Cloth) bonded to the outer surface of an inflatable plastic inner structure.
