Title: The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts

Author(s): Joe Nasvik

Publication: Concrete International

Volume: 30

Issue: 10

Appears on pages(s): 67-70

Keywords: aesthetics; architectural concrete; form liner; formwork

DOI:

Date: 10/1/2008

Abstract:
At the ACI Fall 2008 Convention in St. Louis, MO, ACI Committee 124, Concrete Aesthetics, will sponsor a session on "Uplifting Concrete in Churches, Museums, and Civic Architecture." One of the topics presented will be the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts in St. Louis, MO. The building was designed by Tadao Ando of Osaka, Japan, and is considered a masterpiece in concrete. Because the walls are exposed concrete and no patching was allowed, color had to be consistent throughout the project, every wall surface had to have a "smooth silky finish" free of leak marks and fins, and the intersections of walls and floors, as well as corners for door and window openings, had to form crisp, sharp, and precise lines. The contractor’s efforts to produce the finished surface appearance required by the architect are reviewed.