School of Design & Arts

Architecture Program

Concrete: Building Technology 1

 Basic Background
- very strong in
compression
- w/ Steel, also in
tension
- can take any shape,
or form through casting
- can also take a
variety of textures ,
finishes & colors
- Composition:
cement, water &
aggregates
- Strength is
determined by cement,
aggregates & water
  Basic Background
- expands or shrinks
depending on
temperature changes
- Aggregates makes
up approx. ¾ of total
material volume
- Admixtures:
compounds added to
cement to improve the
cement’s workability
 strength
 curing time
 color &
- Curing: heat given off (heat of hydration).
texture Achieved in
28 days but continues to grow stronger as curing
 Types of Cement
 Portland
- produced by
pulverizing clinker
(calcium silica), and
calcium sulphate Types of Portland
 Type 1 - most widely used and cement
least costly. Reaches
full strength in 28 days w/o additives
 Type 2 - moderate heat emitting. Used for large
concrete pours where less heat is desired during curing
period.
 Type 3 – high early strength which achieves earlier
strength than Type 1
 Type 4 – low heat cement like type 2 and releases the
least heat during curing process
 Type 5 – most expensive, sulphate resisting.
 Types of Cement
 Pozzolan - mixture of portland &
exact amounts of natural
& artificial pozzolanic
materials, ex: volcanic
tuff, shales, clay, ash,
slag
Types of Pozzolan
cement
 Type P – used in general construction where high
initial strength before 28 days is not required.
This type however, like portland, still meets
compressive strength desired of it after 28 days
 Type 1P – additives can be added to achieve optimal
compressive & tensile strength before the 28 day period.
 Design
Considerations - Malleable & free
form
- can acquire any
color
- manipulated to
create preferred - Failure because of:
texture  improper
wrong
mixing

placement
 improper
pouring
 incorrect
- curing
Heavy construction
material
- Admixture to alter
properties
  Types of Concrete
 Reinforced
Concrete
 combination of steel
& concrete
 steel is protected
from corrosion while
concrete is
strengthened
 Pre-stressedin tensile
&
Post- Tension concrete
 Cast-in-Place /Site Cast const.
Concrete  poured directly on site to provide
unlimited sculptural quality
 slow process since formwork
needs to be constructed on site too
 formwork becomes a cost
consideration
 caution on formworks to prevent
  Types of Concrete
 Pre-Cast Concrete
 made at factory before
transport to jobsite
 booming industry-time saving &
cost effective feature
 cladding panels can be
attractively finished
 no formwork to fabricate
and removed after
 can be erected in poor
weather, w/o waiting for
concrete curing.
transport to site maybe
limiting
 best for repetitive &
consistent components of the
  Types of Concrete
 Fiber Cement
Concrete
 used mainly as a siding and
 at times, ceiling material.
o Air-entraining – increases  composed of:
Additives/Admixtures
workability by protecting it o cellulose fibers
from freezing. Adds o Portland Cement
thermal insulating o Silica
properties to the cement o Sand
mix. o water
- lightweight & non- o Additives / Admixtures
ostructural
Accelerating – to
- reducesmore
cure/harden strength of
quickly, - can cause shrinkage
mixture const. time.
reducing & discoloration during
- allows formwork to curing.
be removed sooner - can corrode
 o Super Plasticizers – organic
compound mixtures that
 transforms stiff concrete mix
Additives/Admixtures
o Retarding – slows the to a more fluid, workable mix
hardening or curing time. prior to pouring.a reduction of
- permits
- used in massive water content to increase
engineering applications like conc, -strength.
ingredients are: slag,
roads, bridge decks, dams fly ash, & micro silica
& large foundations. - keeps water content
- allows ample requirement low w/o sacrificing
allowance betweentomixing &
- vulnerable strength.
pouring/use. conditions
environmental
during- curing period.
vulnerable to creep:
deformation due to
structural stress
 o Fly Ash – powdered waste
product from coal-fired power
 plants.- strengthens concrete
Additives/Admixtures
o Water reducing – allows but decreases permeability.
5 – 10% reduction in
needed water to mix while - improve the mix’s
retaining the amount of workability & reduces the
workability. required amount of water to
- produces higher be used in the mix.
strength in concrete and
help plasticity.
- slows hydration
process , thus lengthens
the time of optimum
strength of 28 days

Additives/Admixtures
o Pigmenting Agents –
additives that give desired
colour to the concrete.
- 3 methods of adding
colour:
 Integral Method – adds
the colouring agent through
entire mix and added during
the mixing process.
- produces a uniform
but dull colour through the
entire concrete mixture.

Additives/Admixtures
- 3 methods of adding
colour:
 Dry Method – applied only to
the exposed surface.

- troweled/spread over
the top surface and produces a
thin layer of colour over the
slab.
- produces a more vibrant
colour over the slab compared
to the Integral method.

Additives/Admixtures
- 3 methods of adding
colour:
Chemical Stain Method
- applied when the
concrete has hardened/cured.
- produces an uneven
colour over the concrete as
the hardened concrete would
have variable absorbencies.
- the chemical stains
react directly with the existing
concrete’s minerals & pore
structure
 Movement Joints
 Control Joints
- allows for controlled cracking along a formed,
tooled, or cut joint.
- Allows shrinkage of the section of concrete
 Construction Joints
- occurs when successive concrete pours abut one
- Seams between successive pours, called cold
another.
joints, are often a point of weakness, reinforcement bar
and interlocking keys may be used to tie the two
concrete members
 Expansion Joints together.
- engineered joints that allow two adjacent
structural elements to move independently from each
other when subjected to different stresses
- allows for both contraction and expansion of the
concrete sections.
 Movement Joints
 Isolation Joints
- type of expansion joint, used to separate
concrete into individual structural elements or to isolate
the concrete from other construction materials
 Construction Joints
- occurs when successive concrete pours abut one
- Seams between successive pours, called cold
another.
joints, are often a point of weakness, reinforcement bar
and interlocking keys may be used to tie the two
concrete members
 Expansion Joints together.
- engineered joints that allow two adjacent
structural elements to move independently from each
other when subjected to different stresses
- allows for both contraction and expansion of the
concrete sections.
 Concrete proportion
mixes Strength
Class of Concrete Cement:Sand:Gravel after 28 days
 Class A-A o 1 : 1.5 : 3 o 3.5K to 4K PSI
 Class A o 1 : 2 : 4 o 2.5K to 3K PSI
 Class B o 1 : 2.5 : 5 o 1.5K to 2K PSI
 Class C o 1 : 3 : 6 o 500 to 1K PSI
 Class D o 1 : 3.5 : 7 o less than 500PSI
 Concrete foundation
details
  Construction of
concrete foundation
Reinforcing
Concrete Footing Steel Bars

Concrete Beam
Form
lumber

Footin
Excavation
Concrete
Footing
 Concrete Hollow Block -
CHB  Nominal
Sizes

 4” or
100mm
 6” or 150mm

 8” or 200mm
 Concrete Hollow Block -
CHB
 Layout process / Details
Reinforcing bars
Cement Mortar mix
Mortar mix Fillers

CHB Wall footing

Reinforcing bars
 Concrete Hollow Block -
CHB
 Types of CHBs
 Other CHB products
 Other wood CHB
products
 Reinforced Concrete Cantilever
construction
- dramatic relationship with
the -site
designed against the threat of
flooding
- aesthetic coolness of the concrete is
balanced by the warmth of the wooden
interiors
- side windows were minimized
because the walls act as structural
beams for the entire structure
- creates an interesting
debate of form vs material due
to its long cantilevered
structure.

Office Bldg in Lake Constance,

Austria
 Reinforced Cast-in-Place Concrete
construction
- Inspired by the natural site and its village context.
- large concrete frame embraces the small spaced of the
- composed of 2 rectangular volumes of cast-in-place
building
concrete linked at a skew by a glazed entrance hall.
- architects’ intent was to symbolize the strength of
concrete to the civic unity of the community and its longevity
through its material quality.
- wood
panels &
planks
provided
texture and
reduced the
monolithic
scale of
Civicconcrete.
Building in Valdemaqueda,
Spain
 Reinforced Cast-in-Place Concrete
construction
- Inspired by the natural site and its village context.
- architects’ intent was to symbolize the strength of
concrete to the civic unity of the community and its longevity
through
- wood
its panels
material
& planks
quality.provided texture and reduced the
monolithic scale of concrete.

- site
materials:
 iroko wood
 Gray slate
 aluminum

Civic Building in Valdemaqueda,

Spain
 Reinforced Cast-in-Place Concrete
construction
- last 2 upper floors are ‘glass boxes’ for creativity rooms,
supported by the concrete structure below., the production zone.
- Architect’s design concept was to
separate the two work zones via 2 distinctive
construction
- design intention:
materials. to express a
purity of monolithic material by the use
of concrete.
- West wall, interior walls,
floors & stairways are all cast-in
place concrete
- Cast-in-place concrete is
mixed very near the project site
and requires a form to give it the
- important cost factor to
shape.
consider: formworks, which must
be carefully designed for both
aesthetic & economic reasons
- It is always most
economical to use formwork of Office Building in Gelsinkerchen,
repetitive form, size & Germany
 Reinforced Pre-Cast Concrete construction
- Concrete blades on the
southern side are Precast concrete
louvers, intelligently placed on the
sunny elevation & gives continuity to
the -theme.
These ‘comb-like’ blades of
concrete create a brise-soleil (sun
breakers) for the glass wall, to
keep an optimum level of shade in
the -summer months.
The building
presents a contrasting
character between
materials, one of
slenderness & monolithic
crispness in the brise-
soleil

Office Building in Gelsinkerchen,

Germany
 Pre-Cast Concrete Panels
- Design intent: to have a feeling of openness and to
interconnect with the existing structure of the locale.
- Main character of this building annex is the precast concrete
panels
- Precast panels where made at the shop,
to w/stand moisture & thermal fluctuations.
- Precast
construction is
typically composed of
large, repetitive
elements in order to
- Precast
save cost.elements
concrete
gain considerable
design flexibility by
allo2wing one
dimension to be
variable.
Retirement home Office & Social Hall, Basel,
Switzerland
 Pre-Cast Concrete Panels
- The concrete panels were cast &
cured offsite, then delivered.
- This method allowed for better
control of quality during the casting and
curing of the concrete and assured a
more consistent finish.

- Prefab panels
allowed large
openings such as
floor-to-ceiling
windows, that
enhanced the
connection between
interior
Retirement home & exterior
Office & Social Hall, Basel,
spaces. Switzerland
 Composite Fibre reinforced
Cement - Design intent: provide a serene and pure space
where the land, water, and sky could be framed by the
pure forms of the structure.
- Designed to be easily dismantled and transported to
any permissible site, is also designed to be earthquake
proof, snow and high wind load resistant.

Public Pavilion & Exposition

Center Ajisu-Cho, Japan
by Archt. Katsufumi Kubota - The
pavilion’s simple
lines & large
clean planes
create a
flowing, open
space with
constant framed
views of the
 Composite Fibre reinforced
Exposition Center, Ajisu-Cho, Japan
Cement - CFR Boards give the by Archt. Katsufumi Kubota
building its clean, simple planes
& lines.

- Composite Fibre reinf.

cement boards, panels &
claddings keep the structure
lightweight & economical, easily
dismantled then rebuilt again.
- Steel framed, but
claddings are of CFRBs that
renders the intended form &
quality of finish w/o being
heavy or expensive.
- The quality of its
minimalist details becomes a
tribute & proof that
relatively modest materials
can be used to produce
School of Design & Arts
Architecture Program

Concrete: Building Technology 1

Arch’t. Larry Angelo A. Carandang MSCM

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