The innovative spirit behind designers is the driving force that keeps the ball moving forward with fresh and creative possibilities. The precast concrete industry is brimming with talented professionals ready to turn someone’s “napkin drawing” into reality. As is often the case, the conceptual ideas put forth often morph into something completely different when all the options are realized. So what does precast have to offer and how exactly is all that versatility achieved?

Innovations in Design

Formliners & Architectural Capabilities

The appearance of the end product is perhaps one of the most important factors in project design. Through the use of formliners, precast concrete takes on any shape or detail imaginable. Formliners act as molds that are filled with concrete. Those molds, or formliners, can be ready-made, standard designs “bought off the shelf” or uniquely designed to provide a “one of a kind” appearance to the concrete product. Coupled with the addition of specialized pigments, aggregates, brick facing, acid etchings etc and you have a highly versatile building material.

US Formliner is an industry leader in providing high quality, reusable form liners and invests time and resources into training the next generation of industry professionals on the beauty and benefits of such an open-ended, innovative product.

Custom Solution for Any Project

Precast concrete has the magical ability to be manipulated into virtually any aesthetic appearance desired. Often times, projects involve “building on to” or an addition to an existing structure. Sometimes, those structures have historic qualities or specialized characteristics that are difficult to replicate. The innovative and adaptable ability of precast concrete to be construed to match existing structures makes it the perfect fit for all types of government, school, military, and community type projects. 

Innovations in Design Case Study

Gate Precast created a brand new “old” church in Baton Rouge, LA using some of the innovative possibilities that exist with precast concrete. The finished project has the look of 100 year-old aged limestone, random brick patterns that appear to be hand laid created using custom formliners, and breathtaking Gothic precast arches.

Allen Finfrock, CEO of Finfrock, Apopka, FL has found technological innovations are greatly helping to maximize the productivity of their precast concrete business by saying goodbye to outdated spreadsheets and embracing a vertical integration mentality where the entire design-build team utilizes customized software programs to streamline the process, thereby reducing errors, minimizing change orders, improving schedules, lowering costs, and giving  dimensional accuracy to the project that can be viewed and modified as needed. Finfrock recognizes that the construction industry in general has been historically slow to employ technological advancements, but in an effort to remain an industry leader in the precast concrete market, they have embraced and implemented innovative, forward thinking solutions to their business. Read more by clicking on the article above.

The innovative properties of precast concrete are on display with the recent construction of Clybourne 1200 in Chicago, IL. Using the design-build process, the project team was able to collectively create ideas and find solutions to the challenging V-shape structure. The multi-use structure includes retail space, a parking level and residential housing all wrapped in a beautiful and durable structure that even includes a community garden area. Read more by clicking on the article above.

Innovations in Sustainability

Offsite Construction/Quality Materials

One of the key arguments to be made for the use of precast concrete is the benefit of it being manufactured in an offsite, controlled environment. Strict oversight, PCI certified technicians, repetitive seamless processes and arrival at the jobsite ready to erect only add to the innovative nature of this highly adaptable building material

LEED Design/Sustainability

Many attributes of precast concrete products fall in line with the LEED certification often desired and sometimes mandated by project specs. High thermal values allow for lesser HVAC requirements at the onset and minimize heating and cooling costs throughout the life of the building. Other innovations such as self-cleaning photocatalytic titanium dioxide added to the concrete during the manufacturing process lessens the need for cleaning of the building in high humidity locations.

Weather Event Resistances

Innovative designs using precast concrete components create nothing short of a fortress capable of withstanding the strongest of storms and therefore mitigating the need to send piles of debris to the landfill only be faced with rebuilding once again.

The devastation and aftermath of catastrophic storms play out year after year and yet there’s no end to people willing to take the risk to live near the beauty of the beach. So the question becomes, if people are going to continue to inhabit potentially dangerous areas, what can be done to better protect life and property? One part of the solution lies in building structures capable of withstanding natural disasters. Through years of research and development, precast concrete structures have been shown to stand tough to nature’s fury.

Innovations in Sustainability Case Study

Jackson Precast provided precast to the new Robert J Curry Public Safety Center which replaced the old Gulfport Police Station destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The new complex includes multiple stories for municipal activities and was built with an architectural precast exterior walls and large missile impact window system. The structure was built to meet FEMA 361 design and can act as a hurricane shelter able to self-sustain without power for up to 36 hours.

Innovations in Precast Industry

The age of robotics and AI have led the precast concrete industry into new and exciting territory. Through the use of 3-D printing and highly advanced software such as EDGE and various BIM software products, seamless collaboration, a paperless approach, and problem detection long before the first piece is manufactured is achieved. These incredible cost-saving and time-saving innovations allow for a smoother building process.

How BIM is Changing Precast Concrete

3D Printing and Precast Concrete

Edge^R: Software for the Precast Concrete Industry

Innovations in Precast Industry Case Study

To overcome the inevitable north-facing mildew problems for the LSU Basketball Practice Facility, Gate Precast specified the use of a self-cleaning photocatalytic titanium dioxide admixture, reportedly for the first time in the USA. The goals was an upscale presentation with contemporary finishes that would endure and resist the impact of the adverse climate.

The precast industry is chalk full of examples of how innovative thinking is changing the way we build structures. The desire to maximize safety, minimize use of natural resources, create sustainable structures that last, and construct beautiful buildings we want to live and work in continue to push us to develop better ways to showcase all that is possible with precast concrete.