Students take on concrete for sustainable design competition

By Russell Fortmeyer

Concrete may be one of the most ubiquitous building materials in the world, but the cement that goes into it is a significant cause of pollution. A student design competition, however, sought to address this by finding innovative ways of using concrete sustainably. The winners were announced in late July.

Henry Louis Miller, a student from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, won the component category of the “Concrete Thinking for a Sustainable World” international competition. His entry, “Clean-up: Dirt Built/Cement Made,” illustrated how cement could be combined with contaminated soil or discarded materials to be reformulated into bricks for new construction. A group of students from Quebec’s Université Laval—Giséle Fraser, Daphnee Van Lierde, and Mikaëlle Rolland-Lamothe—took top honors in the structure category with a proposal for a science center with concrete walls that would seamlessly flow into the natural terrain of the site.

David Shepherd, the director of sustainable development for the Portland Cement Association (PCA), said the contest “builds awareness about the important role that concrete plays in sustainable development. Concrete’s durability, energy efficiency, and versatility make it an ideal building material for sustainable design.”

The competition, which attracted more than 80 entries, was sponsored by the PCA and was administered by the Associate of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). A jury, including educators and professionals, selected the projects in June. Prize-winning projects will be exhibited at the American Institute of Architects convention in Boston from May 15-17, 2008, as well as ACSA’s annual meeting in Houston from March 15-17, 2008. Winning students, as well as faculty sponsors and schools, receive cash prizes and software totally $50,000.

For more information:

www.acsa-arch.org
www.cement.org
www.concretethinker.org