Solid States

Concrete is by far the most important construction material for the built environment. It has been around in some form or another for thousands of years but needed to be rediscovered in the nineteenth century with the invention of modern Portland cement. It has been estimated that we produce over 12 billion tons of concrete worldwide each year. Mankind uses no other commodity in such quantities except water. So what is so special about this age-old, all-too-familiar seemingly utilitarian building material that it warrants such discussion by architects and engineers? It has been said that more progress has been made during the last 25 years in the technological development of concrete than in the preceding 150 years. Concrete is the quintessential "engineered" material. In other words, it can be engineered to satisfy almost any reasonable set of performance specifications. The breathtaking scientific and technological breakthroughs of recent years have given us cement composites as strong as steel, lighter than water, or as beautiful as natural stone. Although some of these new materials have not yet reached full-scale application in practice, we feel it is our duty as educators to inform the building community of not only what is already available but also what lies ahead. The contributions in this volume by leaders in their field provide ample examples and illustrations of new uses of concrete around the world. With essays by leading architects, engineers, materials scientists, fabricators, and other specialists, this book documents the state of the art in concrete construction in the twenty-first century.