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ARCT40950

Academic Year 2023/2024

Concrete Research (ARCT40950)

Subject:
Architecture
College:
Engineering & Architecture
School:
Architecture, Plan & Env Pol
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Professor Elizabeth Shotton
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

Most conventional concrete mixes, as specified by European Standards, are based on performance criteria for strength, durability, weight or other engineering characteristics. Architects are left with the choice of colour or surface texture. But our role could be greater than this, to consider the manner in which the mix of elements in concrete can be modified to influence other performance criteria, not specifically linked to engineering criteria, such as the environmental profile, the thermal properties of the mix, or even the proportion of reused aggregates. Our role can also extend to influencing where concrete is used and how it is detailed in an effort to minimize its environmental impact and facilitate its reuse at the end of a building's service life.

This module provides an overview of concrete and its properties, focusing on a different theme each year, with a view to understanding its use and potential in light of broader environmental design principles; to encourage a more integrated approach to building design, construction and performance.

The theme for study in 2023/24 is Designing Concrete Buildings for Disassembly & Reuse (DfDR)

Concrete has gathered a very bad reputation among designers concerned about the environment due to the considerable release of CO2 to the atmosphere that occurs during the production of conventional Portland cement. Coincident to this is the recognition of the potential of concrete to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. Though a phenomenon long known to researchers in the field, until recently the ambition had been to reduce the absorption of CO2 as the carbonation of concrete, though beneficial for concrete, has detrimental effects on steel reinforcing. Given the current global ambition to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere a reconsideration of this natural tendency in concrete has occurred, which may have considerable implications for how it is used in architectural form. The subsequent reuse of concrete building elements, and their relative exposure to the environment, could facilitate this uptake of CO2 to offset the initial impact of cement production.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this course students should be able to;

Understand the environmental impact of material choices in the design of buildings.

Demonstrate a familiarity with environmental impact assessment methods for a material.

Understand how to frame performance objectives and a research hypothesis.

Demonstrate a knowledge of contemporary research in the field of concrete mixes, performance, design and construction, and reuse potential.

Demonstrate an ability to enhance a material's performance relative to its environmental impact through an iterative research, assessment and design process.

Indicative Module Content:

The module content varies by annual research theme. In principle content includes discussions on the environmental implications of material choices and the role of life-cycle analysis; understanding current trends and implications of cement and concrete production within an Irish and global context; reviewing concepts of embodied energy and carbon as well as methods of calculation and associated inventories of data; introduction to concrete mix design and the role of additives, admixtures and alternative forms of cement; contemporary research and case study projects on innovative concrete mixes and/or construction; and concrete construction assemblies.

The module typically includes a field trip to cement and/or precast concrete manufacturing facilities. There may also be workshops which will take place on Tuesdays following the midterm break where small sample projects are made based on research by individual and/or teams of students, which could form part of the final research report.

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

16
Small Group

12
Tutorial

6
Laboratories

4
Field Trip/External Visits

6
Autonomous Student Learning

58
Total

102

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Key teaching and learning approaches used in the module include:

* Lectures and field trips to manufacturing facilities
* Critical writing and student presentations on a summary of a research article for the class
* Research enquiry, problem-based learning and lab/studio work skills on a proposed concrete mix and sample construction
* Reflection and critical writing on research enquiry and outcome of built element for final submission

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment: DfD Project (final report)
Proposal developed on principles of disassembly and lowering the environmental impact of concrete structures, summarized and discussed in a final essay (Individual or team)		 Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No
50
 Yes
Assignment: Journal Article Review (written submission)
Students will submit a review paper of 2-3 pages which summarizes a selected research article.		 Week 5 n/a Graded No
15
 Yes
Presentation: Journal Article Review (presentation)
Students will present their review of their selected select a research article to the class.		 Week 4 n/a Graded No
10
 No
Presentation: Two A1 portrait format panels containing a summary of the research project for presentation and discussion. (Individual or team). Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No
15
 Yes
Presentation: DfD Project (presentation) Week 10 n/a Graded No
10
 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

The first presentation and research summary will facilitate students to self-monitor and critically evaluate their own work relative to their peers and the discussion following the presentation. Written feedback will be provided to each student post-assessment. Students will be provided continuous feedback on the development of their research project, individually or as a group, in-class as their work progresses throughout the term. In-class review of the preliminary results will facilitate students to self-monitor and critically evaluate their own work relative to their peers and the project criteria. Written feedback will be provided to each student or team following completion of the workshop project. A final presentation of the research of each student or team of students will facilitate students to critically evaluate their own work relative to their peers and the project criteria. Written feedback will be provided to each student or team post-assessment on the final research report submitted.

READING LIST (Preliminary - updated list and papers will be found on Brightspace)
First project (select one)

Akinade, O. O., et al. (2017). "Design for Deconstruction (DfD): Critical success factors for diverting end-of-life waste from landfills." Waste Management 60: 3-13.

Arora, M., et al. (2021). "Urban mining in buildings for a circular economy: Planning, process and feasibility prospects." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 174.

Chau, C. K., et al. (2017). "Evaluation of the impacts of end-of-life management strategies for deconstruction of a high-rise concrete framed office building." Applied Energy 185: 1595-1603.

Colangelo, F., et al. (2018). "Life cycle assessment of recycled concretes: A case study in southern Italy." Science of The Total Environment 615: 1506-1517.

Fortuna, L. M. and V. Diyamandoglu (2015). "NYC WasteMatch – An online facilitated materials exchange as a tool for pollution prevention." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 101: 122-131.

Gan, V. J. L., et al. (2019). "A comprehensive approach to mitigation of embodied carbon in reinforced concrete buildings." Journal of Cleaner Production 229: 582-597.

Huuhka, S., et al. (2015). "Reusing concrete panels from buildings for building: Potential in Finnish 1970s mass housing." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 101: 105-121.

Kleijer, A. L., et al. (2017). "Product-specific Life Cycle Assessment of ready mix concrete: Comparison between a recycled and an ordinary concrete." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 122: 210-218.

Kurda, R., et al. (2020). "A comparative study of the mechanical and life cycle assessment of high-content fly ash and recycled aggregates concrete." Journal of Building Engineering 29: 101173.

Kwan, A. K. H. and S. K. Ling (2015). "Lowering paste volume of SCC through aggregate proportioning to reduce carbon footprint." Construction and Building Materials 93: 584-594.

Ong, K. C. G., et al. (2013). "Experimental investigation of a DfD moment-resisting beam–column connection." Engineering Structures 56: 1676-1683.

Salama, W. (2017). "Design of concrete buildings for disassembly: An explorative review." International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment 6(2): 617-635.

Sanchez, B., et al. (2019). "“Deconstruction programming for adaptive reuse of buildings”." Automation in Construction 107: 102921.
Silva, R. V., et al. (2018). "Fresh-state performance of recycled aggregate concrete: A review." Construction and Building Materials 178: 19-31.

Volk, R., et al. (2018). "Deconstruction project planning of existing buildings based on automated acquisition and reconstruction of building information." Automation in Construction 91: 226-245.

Xia, B., et al. (2020). "Life cycle assessment of concrete structures with reuse and recycling strategies: A novel framework and case study." Waste Management 105: 268-278.

Xiao, J., et al. (2018). "A recycled aggregate concrete high-rise building: Structural performance and embodied carbon footprint." Journal of Cleaner Production 199: 868-881.

Yazdanbakhsh, A. and M. Lagouin (2019). "The effect of geographic boundaries on the results of a regional life cycle assessment of using recycled aggregate in concrete." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 143: 201-209.

Zhao, Z., et al. (2020). "Use of recycled concrete aggregates from precast block for the production of new building blocks: An industrial scale study." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 157: 104786.


RECOMMENDED GENERAL TEXTS

Addington, Michelle, Schodek, Daniel. Smart Materials and Technologies for the architecture and design professions. Oxford, UK and Burlington, MA: Architectural Press. 2005

Addleson, Lyall, Performance Of Materials In Buildings : A Study Of The Principles And Agencies, Oxford : Butterworth Heinemann, 1991

Bennett, David. Innovations in Concrete. London: Thomas Telford Books. 2002

Bennett, David. Sustainable Concrete Architecture. London: RIBA Publishing. 2010

Farmer, J., Green Shift: Towards a Green Sensibility in Architecture, London: Buttersworth Architecture, 1996 


Peck, Martin. Modern Concrete Construction Manual : Structural Design, Material Properties, Sustainability. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2014.

Graham, Peter, Building Ecology : First Principles For A Sustainable Built Environment, Oxford : Blackwell Science, 2003 chapters 9 & 10 


Hammond, G. P. and Jones, C. I. (2008) Embodied energy and carbon in construction materials. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Energy, 161 (2). pp. 87-98. ISSN 1751-4223

Illston, J.M. & Domone, P.L.J, Construction Materials: Their Nature and Behaviour, Third Edition, London/New York: Spon (2001)
Knowles, Ralph, Sun Rhythm, Form, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1981


Krause, Jan. Fibre Cement - Technology and Design. Basel, Berlin, Boston: Birkhauser. 2007

CRITICAL RESOURCES
Design of Normal Concrete Mixes. 2nd Edition. Watford: Building Research Establishment (BRE)
available online through IHS database in Library

Admixture Sheet – AES 8 Environmental Impact of Admixture Use. Knowle: Cement Admixtures Association. 2006. Available online http://www.admixtures.org.uk/downloads.asp

The Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE) database is available as a PDF on Brightspace, but is an older version (1.6a). The current ICE 2.0 can be downloaded for free from http://www.circularecology.com/ice-database.html#.UuaFxPbFLZs
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