09/04/2018

Achieving cast in situ

visual concrete

Elaine Toogood
BA(HONS) Grad Dip Arch RIBA
Webinar
Senior Architect, The Concrete Centre
April 2018

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www.concretecentre.com www.sustainableconcrete.org.uk

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Achieving visual
cast insitu
concrete

Formed faces Specification and

design guidance for
good results on the
formed faces of
exposed concrete
Unformed face cast insitu in buildings

St Benedicts School, Buschow Henley Architects

Achieving visual cast insitu

concrete
• Understand the creation processes
• Be realistic about what is achievable
• Describe clearly the result you want to
achieve (use benchmarks)

• It is a team effort. Structural Engineers

specification will require input from the
architect. Concrete contractor input required
for final details

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Visual cast insitu concrete requires

greater care in specification and
execution than most concrete

East Ham Customer Service Centre

Rick Mather Architects/ Engineers HRW

Benefits of visual
concrete include:
• Durability
• Robustness
• Security
• Fire resistance
• Variety /creativity
• Appearance

Jeurgen Teller Studio

6a Architects/ Price & Myers Engineers

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Benefits of internal
concrete include:
•Air-tightness
•Robustness
•Low maintenance
•Fire resistance
•Flood resilience
•Acoustic isolation

Visual concrete also brings:

•Material efficiency
•Aesthetics
Jeurgen Teller Studio
6a Architects/ Price & Myers Engineers
•Thermal mass

Material Efficiency

Visual concrete structure can provide a

durable, attractive finish, thermal mass
AND exceed minimum standards for fire
The Forum, Norwich
and acoustic separation
Hopkins Architects

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Do some research /get advice

Visit examples & benchmark

John Henry Brookes Building, Oxford

Design Engine

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Visit examples & benchmark

• Aesthetic of concrete can be very subjective

• Establish/ agree standard of finish by agreeing
a benchmark with client to be included in
tender documents

Ortus, South London

Duggan Morris Architects

Case Studies

www.concretecentre.
com/casestudies

•Case study map for

inspiration and
benchmarking

•Users can locate

projects they wish to
visit within the UK

•Also You-tube videos

https://www.youtube.co
m/c/TheConcreteCentrevi
deos

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Manage expectations

• Typical 3m viewing distance for assessment

• Tonal variation and blow holes to be expected

Westminster Underground station

Specification & standards

BS8110: Finish A, B & C with finish classes 1,2 & special

Replaced by:
BS EN 13670: basic, ordinary, plain and special
Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield,
David Chipperfield Architects

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BS EN 13670

The National Structural Concrete

Specification for Building
Construction – NSCS v 4
• Definitive, simple and
straightforward

• Prepared by the industry

– clients, designers,
contractors and
specialists

• Aims to benefit all, with

information collected
together in one place

• Download free pdf:

http://www.construct.org.uk/index.
php/useful-stuff/publications

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For ‘as struck’ – choice of

formwork facing material
usually provides texture
(Plain standard)

Post finishing techniques

are possible including
retardent and shot
blasting (An example of
Special standard)

One Poultry

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Understand the process

• Ready mixed concrete: designed and manufactured in local

batching plant, to suit your stated performance
requirements. Quality assured

• Local materials, stored as standard

• Bespoke formwork and selected facing

Placing and Compacting

• Fully compacted
• Max 500mm depths between vibration
• 2-3m /h to avoid cold joints

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The concrete mix

Use a Designed mix to correct ‘recipe’ not a designated

mix
(Proprietary mixes are also possible)

Define concrete mix requirements

for cast in situ concrete
Air 1.5%

Cement 10%

Water 18.5%

Fine Aggregate
(sand) 25%

Course
aggregate
(stone/gravel)
45%

Approx proportions of
A typical concrete mix

• Good visual concrete requires a

Reinforcement Admixture
slightly different ‘recipe’

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Recognised ‘Designed’ mix

proportions
Recognised effective ‘recipe’:
• Cementitious binder (cement) – minimum 350Kg/m3
• Sand content – not more than twice the cement content.
• Total aggregate – not more than six times the cement content.
• Coarse Aggregate – For 20mm max. size not more than 20% to pass
a 10mm sieve.
• Consistence – minimum 125 to 150 slump S3
• Water/Cement ratio – 0.5 or less.

Or consider self–compacting concrete

designed for visual concrete
SCC flow test
instead of slump test

Concrete colour
“Cement gives colour,
Sand gives tint,
Water gives tone”

Quote: David Bennett,

Specifying Visual Concrete conference 2011

•There will always be some

variation
•Don’t be too specific – establish
what is available

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GGBS and FA low carbon cements

Aquatics Centre, Angel Building, London

Zaha Hadid Architects AHMM

GGBS is pale/white FA is dark grey

(30% in diving boards) (34%)

Define cement blend parameters

Portland
Fly ash
GGBS cement
CEM Addition
replacement,
GGBS
Fly ash %
I ~ 0–5
Silica
6 – 10
IIA fume
Fly ash 6 – 20
IIB-V 21 – 35
IVB- Fly ash
36 – 55
V
IIB-S 21 – 35
IIIA GGBS 36 – 65
IIIB 66 – 80
Approx gen mix by volume
BS 8500-1

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GGBS blend

• Ground Granulated Blast

Furnace Slag
• By product of iron/steel industry
• Reduces ECO2
• Inherent pale, creamy colour
• 6-80% can be used depending
on application

Canary Wharf Underground station

Foster and Partners

Fly ash
• By product of coal fired power
stations
• reduces ECO2
• inherent smokey grey colour
• 6-55% used depending on application

Board marked cast in situ wall, Precast stair treads

IStrcutE offices, London
Hugh Brougton Architects/ Expedition engineering,

Approx 40% Fly ash,

self compacted concrete

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•Smooth faced boards

•Self compacted concrete with
fly ash
•Dark colouring enhanced by
sealant

IStrcutE offices, London, rear wall

Hugh Brougton Architects/ Expedition engineering,

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• Different cements
have different colours
• Note: High % cement
replacement impacts
on early strength gain

Guidance for concrete

specification including:

• Reduction of ECO2

• Use of recycled content

• Material efficiency

• Responsible sourcing

www.concretecentre.com/
publications

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Designated Concrete
BS 8500-2: 2006 (Table 5)

50% GGBS in concrete frame/ white precast concrete features

Westminster City College : Schmidt Hammer Lassen / Burohappold

‘whiter’ cast insitu concrete

White architectural precast concrete

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Pigmented concrete

Shingle House,
Dungerness
Nord architects
Submariner’s House, London
Jonathan Tuckey Design
Contractor:John Perkins Projects
Photo credit: Dirk Lindner

Neue Årsta-
Brücke,
Private House Stockholm
Foster and
Bodin and Nielsen Ltd. Partners

Achieving greater visual

consistency
• Cement must remain constant (content and source)
• Water cement ratio must be tightly controlled
• Aggregates should be from a single source and stored
appropriately on site
• Appropriate and correctly applied release agent
• Plant and delivery trucks should be cleaned prior to
batching and delivery
• Concrete placed and vibrated at appropriate rates
• Well constructed form work with clean lining
• Adjacent formwork struck together

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Selecting formwork

EvelynWorks,
Persistence Grace Academy
Sheffield South Bank,
ZahaStudios
Fielden Clegg Bradley Hadid Dennis Lasdun

• As struck finish defined by form work facing

i.e texture, light reflectance and tone

Choice may be dictated by form

Galileo Satellite Control Centre,

Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany Image courtesy of Peri

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Formwork systems

Fast and efficient formwork

and falsework systems are
available

Understand form face qualities

• Range of repeated
use

• Cost

• Quality

• Finish produced

• Potential shapes

• Relationship with
release agent
In order of permeability

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Ply facing
• Ply facing formwork:

• Smooth, large format

sheets

• Typically imperial ply

sheet sizes (2440
x1220) but metric and
oversized boards also
available

• Shiny, matte or slight

timber grain finish
depending on ply facing

Ply facings

• Phenolic Film Faced Panels = Smooth Shiny finish to the concrete

• Medium density overlay (MDO) / Paper Faced Panels = Matt non-

shiny surface finish to the concrete
• High Density Overlay (HDO) = shinier surface
.

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Fabric faced form liner

Images courtesy of Max Frank - Zemdrain,

Chose finish

Caponata restaurant, Camden

Burd Haward Architects

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Timber faced formwork

1 Centaur St Kensington Church St
dRMM /AKT 5th Studio / Price & Myers

Scaffolding boards pressure

Saw cut timber facing
washed and wire brushed to
expose grain

• Agree surface
tolerances
• Define joint details
and board fixings
(usually from behind
so hidden)
• Requirements often
refined during
process of trial
panels

Westminster underground station

Hopkins Associates

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Set out formwork

Dwg by Burwell Deakins Architects

• Design intent drawing by architects pre-tender

• Contractors proposals agreed before construction

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Set tie bolt positions

(design intent)
• Indicative layout on tender
drawings

Establish principle e.g:

• Aligned with each other
• Equal number per board
• Minimum number
required……..

The Forum
ADP / AKS Ward

.…unless more are

Set tie bolt positions required for aesthetic
(design intent) expression

• Final layout will be

dictated by
formwork
requirements

RW Church, Korea – Nameless Architecutre

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Describe details

Design and describe concrete in

3D
• Understand and describe the forms to improve buildability and
optimise formwork

East Ham Customer Service Centre

Rick Mather Architects/ Engineers HRW

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Define extent of embedded

services or patterns

Greenfields House

Richards Partington Architects

Consider location
Of day work joints

• Describe/agree
where day joints are
to be avoided
• Consider expressing
joints in large areas

Angel building, London

AHMM/ AKT

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Day work joints

• Consider
expressing joints
in surface areas to
reduce impact of
tonal variation
between pours

Appropriate Release Agent

Right quantity applied

Too much agent applied

• Specify ‘to suit concrete mix and facing material’

• Correctly applied to manufacturers guidance - other
wise will be visible on the concrete

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Appropriate tie bolts,

covers and spacers

• Specify types appropriate for visual concrete. I.e. with

minimal appearance on face of concrete
• Similar colours where possible

Concrete design process

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Trial mixes

Specify use of control panel(s)

and mock up

• To test mix/formwork/release agent/ curing

time/workmanship combination
• To agree final finish & making good

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Consider weathering
or finishing coats
Evelyn Grace Academy, Brixton Loughborough Design School
Zaha Hadid Architects Burwell Deakins Architects

eg silane or siloxane coating or silicate based pigmented coating

Co-ordinated remediation

• Some likely to be required

• If in doubt – don’t
• Specification to state that method to be agreed before
carried out
• Seek expert advice/skilled remediation

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A summary

• Correct mix and materials

• Suitable facing, formwork and accessories
• Appropriate release agent
• Careful workmanship/process for all elements
• Adequate protection
• Test panel(s)
• Team work and communication
• A little bit of luck!

THANK YOU

etoogood@concretecentre.com

@elainetoogood
www.concretecentre.com

Royal Pathologists Centre,

Bennetts Associates

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