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Title: Developments of Architectural Precast Concrete in Europe

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Publication: CIA

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Date: 2/13/2011

Abstract:
Architectural precast concrete has evolved towards a high quality building material, offering a range of top quality finishes such as limestone or granite, complex brick work detailing and masonry profiles reproduced in reconstructed stone. It is mainly used for facades of all sorts of buildings: apartments, offices, commercial buildings, etc. The development of architectural concrete cladding has not been the same in the different European countries, both with respect to architectural style and market development. In the Nordic countries, architectural concrete has been mainly used for flat sandwich panels, whereas in the more Western part of Europe the applications are rather dealing with expressive architectural single skin cladding for more luxurious facades. Also the market penetration has been quite different, especially for the prestigious applications. The use of refined concrete facade panels started already in the seventies in Belgium, The Netherlands, France and UK. In other countries, the use of more complex architectural cladding came later, for example in Germany, Norway, and Sweden. Today, Finland is practicing a more sober architecture, on line with Modernism. In the following, we will concentrate on the latest evolutions in the façade concept and the production techniques.