According to The Skeptical Environmentalist, concrete is used more than any other construction material in the world. I imagine this is because it’s fairly cheap, and resources for making concrete are practically unlimited. The down side to this is that concrete contributes to global emissions (3%, again in reference to The Skeptical Environmentalist). However I find concrete can be aesthetically pleasing. Great examples include the Roman Coliseum and Ronchamp. So I’m glad it remains a material of considerable value in material science, art, and design applications.
Of the material science applications, some of my favorites include: LitraCon, Chronos Chromos Concrete, ‘Clean Air’ Concrete, and Soft Concrete.
LitraCon combines concrete with optical glass fibers, creating a harmony between material strength and translucency.
Chronos Chromos Concrete uses nickel chromium wires to send current beneath the concrete. The electric current causes the temperature to rise enabling numbers, patterns, text, and color to be displayed via thermochromic ink. Unfortunately their website, chromastone.com, is no longer available. Their video can still be found on youtube.
‘Clean Air’ Concrete contains titanium dioxide and absorbs sunlight to convert nitrogen oxides in the air into harmless nitrate.
Soft concrete contains polymers that increase the concrete’s elasticity and is used to produce the Drop tiles designed by Jenny Oldsjö and Ragnar Hultgren.
While art and design applications include:
Kathy Dalwood‘s black concrete figurines
Fragrance by Alexa Lixfeld
Concrete rings by 22 design studio
Recycled Concrete Sink by Gore Design
[Featured Image: Stefan Zwicky's concrete version of the Le Corbusier Chair.]
