Malleable material

Modernist architecture often uses concrete to achieve clean lines and simple forms.

Concrete is the unseen material behind Middle Eastern development.

From Roman columns and Byzantine vaults to the angular geometries of Brutalism and Ando's polished slabs, concrete has been the material of choice for architects for centuries.

Gropius and Mies van der Rohe found and led the Bauhaus around the concepts of rational and functional design, much of which used concrete to underscore the absence of ornamentation.

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Post-Stalinist architects chose the material for its drabness; while Perret and Le Corbusier were drawn to its texture and irregularity. I.M. Pei lauds concrete for its sharp lines and simplicity; while Oscar Niemeyer uses it to create abstract, flowing, unconventional patterns.

But, within the last 60 years, concrete seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur in that while it is instrumental in certain applications, it seems to have become a bit passé. This reality is especially apparent in the glass and steel bending, twisting towers of the Middle East.

And while no building could stand without the requisite foundation, pillars or podium of concrete, within architectural circles, concrete has become a material used merely for function rather than aesthetic appeal.

Admittedly, there has been a shift toward Postmodernism across the field-which explains some of the futuristic, and often bizarre, designs being witnessed-but product innovations and concrete's inherent characteristics, could have Middle Eastern architects reconsidering their material choices.

Why concrete?

The rapid pace of development in the Middle East requires materials that are local, easily obtainable, relatively affordable and environmentally friendly. Concrete is one of few, readily available, building materials that boasts high marks in all of these categories.

While both glass and aluminium are available in abundance in the region-and are used extensively in architectural applications-glass manufacturers here combat high thermal bridging (i.e. increasing cooling costs) while aluminium begets a very high level of embodied energy.

Concrete, on the other hand, is made almost entirely of natural materials that are all very dense, which gives the product a very high thermal mass. Because of its earthen nature, concrete acts as a thermal sponge; it absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night.

"Concrete is inherently environmentally friendly. Cement, sand, aggregate and water. All the materials are very eco-friendly," says James Campbell, production manager at Mammut Technocrete.

Used in conjunction with proper insulation and well-planned site orientation, concrete structures can reduce energy consumption by up to 50%, which contributes to both comfort and cost-effectiveness for inhabitants.

On the safety front, concrete's constituent materials-cement and aggregates-are essentially inert, which means that once combined, they exhibit very poor thermal conductivity.

In fact, concrete enjoys the highest fire resistance classification under EN 13501-1, which means, essentially, it doesn't burn. Concrete's slow rate of heat transfer enables it to be used as a fire shield and if it is exposed to fire, it doesn't emit toxic fumes, smoke or molten drip.

This is a fact that must resonate with the region's architects and engineers whose projects are built under the scrutiny of evermore stringent safety regulations and within climates conducive to fire.

In terms of longevity, concrete has appeared in ruins of ancient structures that date to 7000 BCE, which suggests unparalleled durability for man-made materials.

Chemical and structural innovations in recent years have led to high-performance concrete with super-tensile load-bearing characteristics. This category of concrete is being used extensively in local infrastructure projects-Dubai Metro, 6th Crossing Bridge, Garhoud Bridge, etc.-which grants them both structural and architectural permanence.

Moreover, high-performance concrete containing admixtures that shut down water transport capillaries and incorporate fine particle cement replacements can render it waterproof and/or sulphate resistant. Concrete of this type is being used in Nakheel's Waterfront, Palm and World, as well as Dewan's Dubai Sports City.

"We're working on a massive installation for the Waterfront project where concrete will be embedded into the ground, so that concrete will have different characteristics...," says Campbell. "This cement ensures that the natural sulphates in the soil don't corrode the reinforcement in the concrete."

Chemical jargon aside, one particularly compelling reason for using concrete in architecture is the fact this it is recyclable. In the UK for example, the use of recycled/secondary aggregates for construction increased 94% between 1989 and 2002.