Education

How many of these building concerns do you share?

Needs and Desires:

• Structures that will efficiently meet faculty, student, and community needs.
• Structures that can be built economically and maintained efficiently.
• Resilience to withstand severe weather threats.
• Durable structures that will tolerate modification and resist abuse.

Consider the valuable benefits concrete structural frames can serve your campus facility goals

Flexible Space

Several concrete systems readily provide change-friendly spans of more than 50 feet

• Appropriate concrete floor systems provide the needed flexibility for modification, floor penetrations and expansion as campus needs change.

Proven Resilience

Building Code Minimums are not intended to ensure building occupancy following a threat event. If you do not insist on more resilient “code-plus” design, the minimum will most likely be the result.

• Require “code-plus” design for your building to resist possible threats to residents from severe weather events likely to occur in the region such as hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes.
• Concrete frames are economical and reliable for resistance to natural threats.

Low Maintenance

When cleanliness and durability matters, no building system performs as reliably, or as economically as steel reinforced concrete.

• Concrete surfaces resist abuse exceptionally well.
• The inorganic nature of concrete discourages the growth of costly maintenance headaches like mold and mildew.
• Exposed concrete can be very attractive and minimizes the need for additional surface treatments.

Noise Control

Concrete walls and floors provide the mass required to effectively reduce the transmission of sound.

• Sound transmission is very common concern for educational facilities.
• Economical sound control favors the use of materials with noise mitigating properties.
• Concrete buildings are inherently quiet.

Fire Resistance

Concrete is non-combustible and, because of its low thermal conductivity, protects from the spread of fire.

• While several strategies help prevent fire spread, appropriate material selection denies a fire structural fuel at the source.
• Concrete is inherently fire resistant and will not burn.
• Concrete offers critical protection for students, faculty, staff and firefighters.

Fluid Capability

Concrete takes any shape with remarkable efficiency and that shape will also be very efficient to maintain.

• A secure and upscale appearance need not be complex or costly.
• Concrete can take any shape and mimic a more expensive materials effectively and economically.
• Concrete is also an inherently low maintenance material.

Fast Occupancy

Concrete is often faster from the start with immediate availability, local materials and quicker building operations.

• Concrete and reinforcing materials are typically sourced locally and can be supplied very quickly.
• Transportation cost and schedule concerns are also reduced as a result.
• Concrete construction also permits more concurrent work – a benefit to construction scheduling.

Vibration Resistant

Concrete absorbs vibration that can be problematic for sensitive lab equipment.

• Because today’s healthcare technologies are more prone to be vibration sensitivities, the structural system’s ability to mitigate vibration deserves scrutiny.
• Concrete structural systems offer inherent vibration absorption other materials simply cannot.

Useful Reflectivity

Daylighting is a popular feature sought after to improve resident comfort and reduce ongoing energy costs.

• Daylighting not only reduces energy costs, it contributes to attractiveness and patient comfort.
• Concrete provides inherent reflective properties which can be valuable when implementing daylighting design strategies.
• Concrete structures also readily permit popular full-height windows.

Energy Efficient

Concrete is comfort-friendly as its thermal mass can enable temperature mitigation strategies that can improve comfort and significantly reduce energy costs.

• Concrete’s inherent thermal mass and conductivity helps regulate temperature changes within a building.
• This capacity is being leveraged in many types of buildings around the country as a valuable contributor to Net-Zero energy strategies.

Clean Surfaces

Concrete offers qualities important to healthcare facility infection control and security with durable surfaces now possible economically.

• Many of these expectations can be met effectively with a remarkably economical material – concrete.
• Concrete can effectively mimic far costlier and maintenance-intensive materials.

Quick Change

Appropriate concrete floor systems provide the needed flexibility for modification, floor penetrations and expansion as hospital needs change.

• Structural systems have a direct impact on a building’s future ease of modification and cost.
• Concrete-wide module and flat plate floor systems do this effectively and economically.
• The best systems permit ongoing operations during expansion.