Book Description

A construction material that once was innovative and modern and then fell somewhat into disrepute through some of the quite radical post-war architecture, concrete is today very popular with planners and builders due to its multifaceted nature. The material offers enormous potential through its extensive load-bearing capacities but also due to the diversity of its properties and surface characteristics. In addition to the technical possibilities customarily attributed to concrete construction, the construction material is on the ascendant not least due to the current debate regarding energy efficiency and sustainability, since it seems tailor-made for the realization of the relevant requirements. It is not just the design and construction of concrete load-bearing structures that are the focus of this publication, but also the materiality and thus the haptic and sensuous side of the material in particular. That's because visible concrete in "smooth gray flawless" quality is not everything that concrete has to offer. Even designers and interior decorators develop furniture and space innovations of unimagined sensuality. The Modern Concrete Construction Manual provides the planner with well-founded expert information regarding the construction material of concrete, ranging from manufacturing to materiality to the design of concrete load-bearing structures, including current options for digital design and production processes. As a standard reference volume, the publication offers comprehensive and detailed insights regarding topics including cost-effectiveness, energy and sustainability, renovation, design and interior decoration. An extensive index of works with successful real-life examples provides inspiration and invites the reader to make modern use of a classical construction material.