The art of mixing and pouring concrete is not the whole story, as rebar is integral to the design. Without rigid reinforcement, the hardened sludge has little value as a load-bearing material, but is conventional rebar the only option?
With Flextegrity, based on the CCP matrix, the designer has more control over both rigidity and volumetric displacement. As cinder blocks prove, there's plenty of space, for space, in many an over-built design.
Consider C6XTY, made of rigidly interconnected hollow balls. The total displacement is less than 74% of the total space (the pure CCP figure) but how much less? A lot more than what rebar would occupy.
A savings of 50% in concrete, while adding strength, might be just the ticket, given the right truss.
What schools of engineering are studying the combination of concrete and lattice trussworks?
Is your construction company in the loop?
Here at Coffee Shops Network (CSN), we specialize in hypertoon reveries (spaghetti balls of connected scenarios) and the CCP (= FCC) is a kind of homebase for our explorations.
Of course we follow C6XTY, a set of stories, and Flextegrity, given our specialty.
Thanks to Lattice Gallery in Portland, Oregon for popping up during the holidays and showing Portlanders some of the possibilities.
