Webinar Archives

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This webinar will explore the use of Insulated Concrete Forms as a viable and enduring building system.  The webinar will explain the many benefits, economies, and attributes of Insulated Concrete Forms.  The presenter will share lessons he has learned, details for implementation, things to avoid, and things to consider.  The presenter will describe how Insulated Concrete Forms can be implemented into the design of net-zero energy buildings.  Finally, a case study will help illustrate the benefits and properties of a thermal mass/thermal reservoir. 

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Part of the Sustainable Structures Webinar Series: Look around and you’ll see many five to seven story projects being built today with a one- or two-story concrete pedestal, supporting up to five floors of steel or wood frame. These “pedestal” projects are assumed to be the cheapest way to build while longer term ownership implications of these designs are not well understood. This one-hour presentation dispels the myths that are driving the popularity of pedestal construction and demonstrates the value concrete provides.

The developer/owner’s perspective on building multi-family housing projects with Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) will be presented, and will include design, construction, and energy-efficiency implications, as well as tenant satisfaction. The presenter will overview his use of ICF’s and concrete for the exterior wall system at Kendal Lofts, a 42-unit project in Waukesha, Wisconsin. In addition, the presenter will also discuss his latest all-concrete residential projects in Wisconsin and Florida.

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Concrete is used in nearly every structure we build today, including buildings, bridges, homes and infrastructure. With greater emphasis placed on sustainability, design professionals are faced with the challenge of meeting traditional design criteria with evolving criteria that support green building and efforts to reduce impact on climate change. Performance-based specifications for concrete represent an important synergy with sustainability initiatives because they provide the opportunity to optimize mixtures for performance that can also reduce environmental impacts. Prescriptive specifications often adversely impact the environmental footprint of concrete structures. This presentation outlines how concrete performance can be improved while lowering environmental footprint by implementing performance-based specifications.

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With a growing interest in sustainability, the construction industry is looking for solutions to help reduce its carbon footprint. The Portland Cement Association’s newly released Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality lays out the cement and concrete industry’s commitment to a lower carbon future. With its proven performance, portland-limestone cement, or PLC, is ready to play a key role, yet many designers and specifiers don’t know about it. This program will explain what PLCs are, how to use them, and their effects on fresh and hardened concrete properties. Several examples of PLC projects in the U.S. over the past decade will show how others have used it successfully.

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The tilt-up industry remains characterized as a budding or growing delivery method for new construction.  This dominant method of design and construction has a rich history of more than a century of influence and nearly fifty years of dramatic growth and unmatched solutions.  This presentation will detail the progress made and highlight the features of the industry that evidence why it is an ideal platform for specialists in design and construction, returning craftsmanship to the mindset of today’s contractor. The presenter will be James R. Baty II, F.ACI, F.TCA (Tilt Up Concrete Association).

No credits will be awarded for viewing recordings of the webinar. 

The webinar is being sponsored by the Iowa Ready Mixed Concrete Association, the Minnesota Concrete Council, the North Dakota Concrete Council, the South Dakota Ready Mix Association, and the Wisconsin Ready Mixed Concrete Association. 

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Anyone who has watched a building under construction can appreciate its complexity and sophistication. Occasionally, inspection and testing requirements occur that the local code official may not be qualified or experienced to address, so third-party assistance is needed. The building codes address this need through a specific requirement for structural tests and “special” inspections. A special inspection can be required for materials, installation, fabrication, erection or placement of components and connections where special expertise is needed.  This presentation will cover the requirement of special inspections as well as some examples of when construction testing and inspections did not go as planned. 

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Making a decision that requires ethical consideration is usually not easy. Rarely are we faced with an ethical question that has a corresponding answer that is clearly black and white. Doing the ethical thing can require effort and determining the correct path may include many variables that cause us to pause and consider what the right decision is. In this presentation, the speaker will discuss some scenarios that illustrate the grey area that can be "ethics." The presenter will work through the scenarios an offer insight on determining the correct and ethical way to proceed through a decision-making process.

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This webinar will outline the benefits of using Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) in construction, especially in regard to Rural and Tribal projects.  ICFs are a key component in DSGW’s strategy to design Net Zero projects.  This presentation will show examples of ICF and Net Zero design, in particular the Fort Totten Alternative CTE School, the country’s first Net Zero school on Tribal lands in North America.  

The 12,500 square foot, $3.8 million net zero Fort Totten Alternative CTE School was designed to produce more energy than it consumes while ensuring to meet other standards common when designing a net zero facility. There are other net zero schools in the United States, but this new school is the first to be built on tribal land and the first in North Dakota.

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It is becoming increasingly common for developers and the AEC community to establish carbon reduction goals for projects, in addition to other sustainability targets. Policies are being put in place that set carbon footprint limits on certain materials. In this session we will review the current landscape of embodied carbon and sustainability, how to calculate the carbon footprint of your scope on a project and discuss availability of local materials and strategies to reduce embodied carbon of concrete, including specific strategies to incorporate in specifications. We will also discuss how the ready-mix supplier can support the industry on a project that has carbon reduction goals. 

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With increasing discussion about the need to control global warming, engineers are starting to pay attention to how they can reduce the environmental impact of their work. This presentation will review what actions have been taken in recent years to reduce carbon footprint in concrete construction, as well as offer some thoughts on what actions can be taken today, and dream a little about the future.