Design Competition for Greener Concrete

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and the Portland Cement Association (PCA) have announced their “Concrete Thinking for a Sustainable World” student design competition.

This is the third year for the competition. The concrete industry is looking for opportunities to boost the perception of concrete as a green material, since the mining, processing and transportation of concrete is responsible for 8% of all carbon dioxide produced by human activity.
Like plastics, concrete is a versatile and widely used material, but there are a number of undesirable consequences of the production of the material that have architects, engineers, and other designers looking for alternatives and for better ways of producing the material.

There are two categories in which entries can be submitted: I- Design an environmentally responsible Recycling Center focused on reusing today’s materials to preserve tomorrow’s resources, or II- Design a single element of a building that provides a sustainable solution to real-world environmental challenges. Registration deadline is Feb. 8, 2008 and the deadline for submissions is May 14, 2008. Prizes include US$10,000 to be divided among the top winners in each category and a copy of PCA’s suite of concrete design software with an array of structural engineering resources, awarded to each winning school.

Link: 2007 PCA Design Competition Winners

Image source: Portland Cement Association