As global population increases, so do the demands for construction and concrete. We’ve covered this topic in a blog article before, but we haven’t gone into the ways in which precast concrete is changing the future of construction.
Modern skyscrapers are tall and thin, and each new building is taller and thinner than the one that came before it. According to the president of DeSimone Consulting Engineers in New York, Stephen DeSimone, “No matter how tall the building you’re working on today is, there’s always a taller one coming.”
Precast Concrete Stabilizes Buildings Against the Wind
DeSimone knows what he’s talking about—he’s one of many architects working on the huge building boom in Miami, Florida. DeSimone is building a pair of twisting towers, designed by the Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, which begins as squares before twisting themselves into large rectangles as they rise. On tall, thin buildings like these, the way the wind affects the façade is just as important as anything else about the structure.
For example, buildings that are modeled to look like sails or wings tend to act like them, too, generating lift and dangerous structural forces. For tall, thin buildings, the goal is to break up the movement of the wind over the building, utilizing features such as nooks, crannies and ornaments to slow it down. With that in mind, most buildings utilize a complicated exoskeleton embedded with these features.
The strongest, most durable skyscrapers are built from hollow precast panels filled with cement. For instance, the 62-story 1000 Museum Tower in Miami, Florida looks like an alien life form, complete with a precast exoskeleton.
As the popularity and demand for tall, durable skyscrapers increases, we can expect to see precast concrete wall panels becoming more widely used. As suppliers of forms for precast concrete, our team at Del Zotto Products couldn’t be happier with the opportunity this brings. For more information about the world of precast concrete, you can contact us or reach out via social media.