Translucent Concrete Greenwash

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Translucent Concrete Bench Greenwash

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ACI Student Chapter – IUBATACI Student Chapter – IUBAT

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The fascinating substance known as translucent concrete, also referred to as light-transmitting concrete, is rising in prominence in the field of sustainable building. This ground-breaking substance has the capacity to transfer light through its surface, offering a stylish and cost-effective response to contemporary building requirements.

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In order to create a surface that can transfer light, this particular variety of concrete contains embedded optical fibers or other translucent materials.

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The threads are equally dispersed throughout the concrete, allowing for the passage of both natural and artificial light. As a result, the light is filtered through the concrete surface and produces an unusual visual effect that is almost otherworldly.

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Translucent concrete’s most important benefit is its capacity to lower energy usage by letting natural light into interior areas, which eliminates the need for artificial lighting during the day. It is also extremely robust and requires little upkeep, making it the perfect material for high-traffic places. It also has excellent thermal qualities, making it an excellent insulating material.

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There are many uses for translucent concrete, including external cladding, facades, internal walls, floors, and steps. In public areas like airports, museums, and shopping centers, where concrete and natural light combine to produce an airy, open ambiance, it is especially well adapted for use.

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Translucent concrete provides a novel way to meet the demands of contemporary building as sustainability assumes greater significance in design. It is the perfect substance for designers seeking to build cutting-edge, environmentally friendly, and aesthetically stunning structures due to its energy-efficient qualities and stunning visual effects.

In conclusion, translucent concrete is a fascinating and cutting-edge substance that will undoubtedly be crucial to the development of ecological building. Its distinct qualities and uses make it a flexible and environmentally friendly substance that architects and designers can use to produce beautiful and energy-efficient buildings.

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BrianSpecMan’s response

There is not enough critical joined-up thinking in Architectural Education
Manufacturers marketing greenwash accepted ‘hook, line and sinker’?
Landscape Architects, Services Engineers and lighting designers all need good guidance too.
This is posted by Civil Engineering Students the largest specifiers of concrete

Translucent Concrete Greenwash

Samuel Robertson, RA

View Samuel Robertson, RA’s profile

2ndCreative Director

When you tell AI to write an article about how translucent concrete is sustainable. It’s not.
The energy required to produce cement is very high, and the thermal resistance of concrete is basically 0.
Otherwise, translucent concrete would be an interesting thing to talk about.
But no, not as something ‘sustainable’.

BrianSpecMan’s response

AI seems to be good at subtitles and good at marketing greenwash
Good at telling an optimistic story, ignoring the facts
AI could be renamed AS Artificial Sustainability

BrianSpecMan Murphy

View BrianSpecMan Murphy’s profile (He/Him)

Through CPD, lectures or consultancy; by calculation or specification, I enable students/designers to embed environmental joined-up thinking and actions into their client’s minds, building or retrofit project proposals.

In response to the initial posting:

What is your definition of sustainability? Greenwash prevails.
What is your definition of ecological? Greenwash persists.
What is your definition of environmentally friendly? Greenwash friendly.

The foundations look like scraps of wood, well that will last a few wet seasons then everything falls over.
If was installed that easily it can be uninstalled just as easily.
A few skateboarders will up end that in one session.
A robust drunk vandal could make a nice sculpture in the grass.

Cement and concrete is a planet busting material that we need to stop using.
Cement is high embodied energy and carbon.
Aggregates would have been low carbon and some energy but they are replaced by optical fibres.
Optical fibres:
- plastics are high embodied energy and fossil carbon;
- glass is high embodied energy and some carbon (from fuel)
Now do an LCA and EPD and a whole life carbon whole life cost analysis.
To top it off do a payback period analysis
Better still a carbon back period analysis.

Do we really need to keep a power station on 24 hours a day to keep these lights on during the night when most of us are sleeping and very few people see it.
And do we need to make it more difficult for nature to sleep and for nocturnal animals to feed without being signposted by lights to be predated by other animals?

Does the optics provide UV filtration for museums?
Interesting, glass can do light transmission effectively.

Concrete has a poor performing k value hence a poor performing U and R value.
Optical fibres might be hollow, could provide thermal conductivity insulation, but running face to face could just as easily provide thermal bypass route and acoustic bypass route?
One of concrete’s properties is specific heat capacity and thermal mass to protect the interior of buildings from solar heat gains and overheating.
Now it can have these properties wiped out by letting the sunlight through and replacing some thermal mass with air.

BrianSpecMan in response to Jorge Alves Silvano (a glass half full kind a guy. Critical of my criticism)
Does being glass half full mean you can ignore the negatives and only see the positives?
Human life on this planet is going to be too short if we ignore the negatives.
Greenwash has to be challenged.
Pointing out the greenwash is… just saying!

Ian Rae

View Ian Rae’s profile

1stDesign Engineering and innovation

I really like the innovative idea of this, it has many other potential safety but aesthetically pleasing benefits too.
Often outside lighting is as Brain commented, not very well lasting when poorly installed.
This idea does have the potential to be very long lasting if it’s installed well.