Precast Solutions - May/June 2008 - (Page 4)

TECHNICAL SUSTAINABILITY AND PRACTICALITY PRECAST CONCRETE OFFERS ACHIEVABLE SOLUTIONS FOR SPECIFIERS AND PRODUCERS. BY SUE MCCRAVEN “SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS THAT WHICH MEETS THE NEEDS OF THE PRESENT WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE ABILITY OF FUTURE GENERATIONS TO MEET THEIR OWN NEEDS.” G reen building, carbon footprint, energy conservation, recycling, greenhouse gas emission, waste reduction, LEED credits sustainable practices into production whenever possible.” According to Mark Jareo, Jefferson Concrete’s operations manger, 95 percent of the water used in the concrete coring process is recycled. “Prior to shipping, many of our products are cored for drainage,” he says. In this process, the water used to cool the drill bit is reclaimed by sluicing water down a trench to a receiving pit. Water is then pumped into a decanting tower where fines settle out. Clarified coring water is reclaimed for future use, saving hundreds of gallons of water daily. and environmental stewardship: These are all terms used in the current vernacular for sustainable design and development. In the precast concrete industry, as for all industries worldwide, sustainable practices are those that demonstrate the most efficient use of energy, water and materials based on currently available and economically feasible technologies. But how can precast concrete producers and specifiers distinguish between the considerable popular rhetoric on sustainability and economically feasible practices that are also environmentally and socially DISASSEMBLE AND REASSEMBLE EXISTING PRECAST STRUCTURES What could symbolize sustainable construction practice more than that of reusing existing building components to expand or erect new structures? Is such UNITED NATIONS BRUNDTLAND COMMISSION REPORT responsible? Actually there are a number of ways. RECYCLE CONCRETE CORING WATER a material- and energy-efficient concept even viable? In the precast concrete industry, the answer is “yes.” In addition to providing owners with a durable, energyefficient, aesthetically pleasing building enclosure, “precast concrete systems present important sustainable benefits that are often overlooked,” explains Don Zakariasen of Lafarge North America. Precast insulated wall panels can be easily uninstalled from a building that is in service to facilitate expansion. The robust nature of precast concrete elements permits disassembly with little or no damage to precast wall elements. “This was the case with the Tim Horton’s office and distribution center in Calgary, Alberta,” says Zakariasen. The developer installed a temporary wall in the As a National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA)certified and New York Department of Transportation (NYDOT)-approved precast concrete manufacturing facility, Jefferson Concrete Corp. of Watertown, N.Y., is a diversified manufacturer and installer of products ranging from wall systems, burial vaults and catch basins to retaining walls and agricultural silos. Jefferson Concrete addresses sustainability in the precast concrete industry by recycling drainage water from its concrete coring operations for NYDOT. Mark Thompson, vice president, with more than 30 years of industry experience, claims that “the success and growth of the company depends not just on a quality workforce and quality products, but on trying to implement 4 PRECAST SOLUTIONS | MAY/JUNE 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Precast Solutions - May/June 2008

Precast Solutions - May/June 2008 Contents Sustainability and Practicality Security Blanket A Frank Lloyd Wright Takes Shape Concrete Joins MENSA Precast Lightens Up

Precast Solutions - May/June 2008

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