Cement: The “Amazingly Versatile” Building Material

Concrete…the “versatile” building material??? According to ArchDaily.com, concrete can be spongy, waterproof or, amazingly, clean pollution from the air! It all depends on its initial composition and how it’s mixed.

Depending on the project, an architect may have to “design” the type of concrete they would like to utilize for the project. This may entail some manipulation of the properties of the concrete to create the type of composition that will fulfill its particular use in the project. Certain conditions have to be considered, as well, like “mixing, transport and pouring” in order to make the concrete behave as the architect would have it to.

Concrete can become a more useful and versatile building material if certain, variable factors in the cement, the filler, for instance, were manipulated appropriately. Water and cement are considered to be the non-variables that make cement what it is. Certain factors like where and how cement is mixed is also taken into consideration when trying to achieve lighter-weight cement or semi-transparent cement with certain improved thermal qualities. Most people take the versatility of cement for granted; however, it is its very versatile quality that makes cement the most used and indispensable material known to humankind. To find out more about the endless possibilities of cement in architecture, visit https://www.facebook.com/cemex. CEMEX has partnered with ArchDaily to provide information on this article.