FERRO-PAST AND FERRO-FUTURE

Author(s): Michael Pemberton, Martin Pullan, Antony Tucker
Book Title: FERRO-11 – 11th International Symposium on Ferrocement and 3rd ICTRC - International Conference on Textile Reinforced Concrete
Editor: Wolfgang Brameshuber
Print-ISBN: 978-2-35158-152-0
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-153-7
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2015
Pages: 407-415
Total Pages: 9
Language: English

Abstract: This paper comprises a summary of the Author’s Ferrocement activity since attending the Nervi Symposium of 1981, prior to taking a licence for the UK and Europe to use the spray and laminating technology invented by Iorns and Watson of the Fibersteel Company of California. The Nervi Symposium was the first and largest International Ferrocement Symposia. Over 200 people attended, only two of the delegates, the author, Michael Pemberton from Leeds, UK. and Martin Iorns from California, were entrepreneurs. The remaining delegates were ferrocement academics from around the world. This paper asks the question - where in our construction education agenda is ferrocement today? This paper follows the establishment of Ferrocement Laminates UK Ltd. in 1982 and the development work to build pontoons and then roof leaves of the deMenil Museum, Houston. These roof leaves are still claimed to be the world’s most accurate and technically advanced ferrocement / concrete castings. The paper continues with reference to work in UK developing sewer lining systems, FCL, (Ferro-Monk) and Russell. (Alphacrete). The paper describes the building of pontoons for marinas and to support houses. Some extraordinary ferrocement work is discussed and illustrated. The paper describes the benefits of the spray and lami-nate system of manufacture and discusses the potential for future development of high tensile laminated ferrocement plates to be used as permanent shuttering. Historical ship recovery and replication is discussed. The paper concludes with a reference to the solar roof of the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Centre in Athens. Which is without doubt, the most remarkable application of ferrocement construction to date. “If your put steel into the ocean – better to wrap it in quality concrete – or the costs of maintaining that steel (painting) will dissipate the revenue earned from the structure.” This applies to ships and all steel structures in the ocean!

Online publication: 2015
Publication Type: full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00