Innovative Uses For Precast Concrete

Our nation is largely built of concrete. But traditional concrete brings with it a number of concerns—especially in an eco-aware era. As high-dollar repairs and even more costly carbon footprints leave their mark, the world is looking for a new way of building its infrastructures. And precast concrete may just be the solution it’s looking for.

Precast concrete, once used mainly for commercial and home construction projects, is increasingly being used across industries for a variety of purposes. Its growth in popularity is due in no small part to the fact that it isn’t limited by traditional constraints like budgets and time. Because it’s mixed, formed and cured offsite, construction teams don’t have to waste precious days in waiting. And because they’re formed in quality-controlled environments with the strictest standards for waste (and last a really long time!), precast concrete minimizes environmental impact.

Here are just a few of the innovative ways precast concrete is breaking the mold and making a mark on the world.

Port pontoons

In Juneau, Alaska the cruise ship industry is thriving. And it’s an important component of the state’s economic welfare. But the advent of large, new cruise ships made it obvious that the port needed a new solution to the now overwhelming problem of simultaneously docking multiple large ships. The port couldn’t put business as usual on hold, so they needed a fast solution that would last. Enter precast concrete. After minimizing the weight and ensuring a low-maintenance design, the port engineer said, "We love the concrete pontoons because they are aesthetically pleasing and not obtrusive along our waterfront.

Bridges

Bridges have traditionally been pretty major undertakings. Pouring and curing concrete high above the ground (or a raging river) in the open elements can easily make projects run slower than desired. But bridges like the Carriage Pavilion Bridge at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri has taken bridge-building and renovation to a whole new level. The precast bridge easily met the need for an aesthetically appealing "pigeon-proof" design that discouraged nesting—on budget. Once completed, the bridge was declared "an engineering marvel and aesthetic masterpiece.

Schools

The Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts in Pennsylvania needed to expand quickly to meet the growing enrollment demand. They had a property, but faced the challenges of small construction space, tight timeline and working during the frigid winter. Precast concrete was their material of choice to meet every challenge head-on. The 3-story building was completed using a number of precast elements, including: 49 precast beams, 18 columns, 12 slabs, 426 panels, 26 double-T’s and 646 hollowcore slabs of different depths.

Museums

Miami, a city known for its innovative uses of precast concrete in civic architecture, has added a new building to its skyscape. The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami, Fl., has become a beacon in its own right for precast concrete design. The 250,000 square foot design has a freestanding 67-foot diameter dome, and a 3D, geometric pattern designed directly into the 95 panels. A marvel of concrete-work, the museum displays excellently just what precast can do. The senior project manager said, "this design adds the most unique use of precast to [the city’s] rich collection."

Precast concrete is transforming infrastructures and our world. And as more user cases are implemented, we could soon start to see a more sustainable, eco-friendly "concrete jungle."