What You need to Know about Architectural Concrete....

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Concrete is a monolithic material, but does not give a perfectly monolithic appearance. It is impacted by formwork, concrete mixture, changing weather conditions, color of cement from manufacturer to manufacturer, aggregate supplies, moisture content, admixtures and many other items.

As a young architect student, I used concrete as a material of choice because it could be formed into anything I imagined. It is natural for architects to think in terms of form, function, texture, space, and order, because these are the concepts that an architect uses to create unique environments. After I took some engineering courses, I began to understand the impact of structural loads and their implications that require the concrete to have minimum depths and maximum spans. Engineers think in terms of loads, material strengths, and structural layout, because these concepts are needed to design a safe and durable structure.