California House Keeps Low Footprint with High-Performance Concrete Masonry

A recently constructed eco-friendly residence in southern California boasts a small carbon footprint in balance with the lifestyle common in the area, but functions as a high-performance building. The single-family home is designed to maximize volume, light, sustainability, and privacy on a narrow 43 by 132 foot urban infill lot.

Building materials for the project were carefully selected for their durable, low maintenance characteristics, significant recycled content, and recyclable potential.  Making the cut were concrete masonry units (CMU), synthetic reinforced stucco, corrosion-retarding steel, composite decking, and copper.

CMU allow for a highly efficient building envelope, and concrete floors provide thermal mass. Radiant floors and solar thermal energy are utilized for space heating and domestic hot water heating. Mechanical cooling was eliminated through a combination of natural ventilation and operable shading. Ultra-efficient appliances and lighting have minimal energy requirements, and solar electric power is able to satisfy the remaining loads—achieving a net zero energy home.

The use of masonry also contributed to enhanced indoor health for the occupants.  Outside, finishes that weather naturally were chosen to eliminate the use of paints and sealants. Inside, pumice-aggregated CMU and other surfaces were left unpainted. As a result, there are practically no VOC emissions. An interior CMU interior back wall was shot-blasted to a white surface to allow it to serve as a dramatic backdrop for artwork.
More information at www.ncma.org
Contact Jamie Farny

2010 Sustainable Development Leadership Award Winners Announced

As part of its ongoing commitment to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of cement and concrete as a sustainable, cost-effective, and economical choice for infrastructure development, PCA will honor five public officials from across the nation with 2010 Sustainable Leadership Awards (SLA).

Now in their third year, the SLA honors those who enact innovative policies and initiate projects in their communities that exemplify creativity, best practices and responsible stewardship of public funds using concrete and cement-based products.

The 2010 Award winners, by category:

Leadership in Sustainability Policy
> Ariel Soriano, P.E., engineering manager, Chattanooga, Tenn., for implementing policies that utilize a multitude of methods that employ concrete and cement products for sustainable development including roller compacted concrete, full‐depth reclamation (FDR) with cement, and pervious concrete.
> Henry C. Hawkins III, county engineer, Chambers County, Ala., for  spearheading policies that advance the use of FDR with portland cement for the purposes of sustainable rehabilitation of roadways and responsible use of public funds.

Infrastructure Projects
> U.S. EPA, for the construction of a 110-car, porous pavements parking lot at the U.S. EPA National Risk Management Laboratory in Edison, N.J.
> Jeff Hackbart, director of public works/city engineer, Frankfort, Ky., for utilizing pervious concrete as a solution to drainage issues and to prevent waterway pollution.
>  Jim McQueen, chief construction manager, Port of Houston Authority, Texas, for using roller compacted concrete (RCC) to construct sustainable, durable and lasting pavements.

Nearly 20 winners of the SLA can be found across the nation; from Philadelphia to Dallas and from Chicago to Highland, California.
Local award presentations will take place this fall.
Contact Patti Flesher

Speakers Announced for PCA Fall Meeting

PCA’s Fall Meeting is scheduled for October 31-November 2, 2010, in Palm Beach, Fla. In addition to the PCA Board of Directors, the CTLGroup Board of Directors will also meet. Also on the agenda are meetings of the PCA Education Foundation and the NESHAP Committee.

Julie A. Rochman, president and CEO of the Institute for Business & Home Safety, will speak at the November 1 luncheon.  She will address how the construction and insurance industries can work together to provide functional resilient design.

PCA chief economist and vice president Ed Sullivan will present his new forecast to the Board on November 2.
Contact Jan Farnsworth

Holcim Trident Plant Celebrates 100th Anniversary

Approximately 200 employees, family, retirees, friends, and local dignitaries gathered on September 25 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Holcim (US) Inc. cement plant located in Trident, Mo.

"The centennial celebration is an experience of a lifetime for the company, employees of our Trident plant, and the community surrounding it," said Bernard Terver, president and chief executive officer of Holcim (US) Inc. "The cement industry has seen many changes over the past 100 years, but one thing remains consistent and that is the dedication of our employees. This plant is a great representation of that dedication."

Several speeches were made by officials of Holcim (US) Inc. and local dignitaries. Festivities included a BBQ lunch, tours of the plant, and musical entertainment.

The plant also used this celebration as an opportunity to bring awareness to the environment by incorporating a Conservation Day. Guests learned how waste impacts the environment by visiting several interactive stations measuring carbon footprint, and learning ways they can help protect the environment.

Questions Raised—and Answered—on PCA's Code for Sustainable Buildings

The release of PCA’s High Performance Building Requirements for Sustainability 2.0 has again drawn the attention of the construction media and the ire of competitors and rivals in the building code arena. An article in the October 4 Engineering News-Record, “Once Again, Rivals Slam PCA’s Proposed Sample Ordinance,” covers the provisions of the building code requirements while airing some criticism from opponents.

As the article notes, the requirements include concepts found in most green building standards such as energy, water, and materials resource conservation, while enhancing disaster resistance by setting more stringent durability requirements. It also notes that the PCA proposal is written in code language that allows jurisdictions to amend it to the International Code Council codes.

The criticism in the article comes from the Building Owners and Managers Association as well as the American Institute of Steel Construction. PCA’s requirements have been endorsed, however, by the Institute for Business and Home Safety, a Tampa, Fla., based organization of insurers.
More at the Think Concrete blog

Webinar Explores RCC Thickness Design

PCA will offer the webinar " Thickness Design of Roller-Compacted Concrete Pavements " on October 12, 10-11 a.m. (CST). This webinar will discuss thickness design theory, assumptions, and methods for roller-compacted concrete (RCC) pavements.

Thickness design for RCC pavements employs the same basic strategy as for conventional concrete pavements: keeping the pavement's flexural stress and fatigue damage caused by wheel loads within allowable limits.  Thickness design procedures for RCC pavements for heavy industrial applications have been developed by PCA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Available design software that can be used to determine the thickness of RCC pavements will be demonstrated.  The cost of this one-hour webinar is $60. ($30 for PCA members; government officials; students and educators).
More information or to register

Hover Named ACI President

The American Concrete Institute (ACI) announces Kenneth C. Hover, Ph.D., P.E., as its new president.

Dr. Hover assumes the post of president of the Institute after the passing of President Richard D. Stehly on September 18, 2010. Hover most recently served as ACI’s senior vice president.

 “On behalf of the American Concrete Institute members and its staff, I would like to thank Kenneth Hover for graciously and humbly accepting the post of President of the Institute,” said Ron Burg, executive vice president of ACI. “We are confident that Ken will continue Dick Stehly’s ambitious visions for ACI during this time of tremendous loss for the Institute and the entire concrete industry.”

Dr. Hover is professor of civil and environmental engineering and Stephen Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. An ACI member since 1980, Dr. Hover currently chairs ACI Committee 301-C, Concrete Mixtures, Handling, Placing, Consolidating, and Curing, and also chairs ACI’s Task Group on Fly Ash Communication. He currently serves on several other technical committees, including 318-A, Structural Concrete Building Code. Dr. Hover previously served on the ACI Board of Direction and was named a Fellow of ACI in 1992. In addition, he is a past president of the ACI Greater Miami Valley Chapter.

Hover received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a Ph.D. in structural engineering from Cornell University.