Guidance for specifying

high quality cast insitu

visual concrete frames,
walls and soffits
Elaine Toogood
BA(HONS) Grad Dip Arch RIBA
Architect, The Concrete Centre
 An overview of
considerations for
specification

55 Gee Street,
Munkenbeck and Partners /Dewhurst
Macfarlane and Partners
 Understand the process of making

Local Materials

Unique creation
Often bespoke
formwork
Concrete constituent parts

Approx average mix by volume

Cast insitu
Specification & standards
Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield, David
Chipperfield Architects /
Ramboll UK

BS8110: Finish A, B & C with finish classes 1, 2 & special

Replaced by:
BS EN 13670: basic, ordinary, plain and special
Visit examples & benchmark

Brent Civic Centre

Hopkins/URS
Manage expectations
Dundee House
Seona Reid
Reiach andBuilding
Hall Architects
Stephen Holl/JM architects

Angel building, London

AHMM/ AKT
Choose finish

For ‘as struck’ – choice

of formwork facing
material usually
provides texture

(Other finishes are

possible including Point
tooling, Retardent and
Shot blasting)
Visual cast insitu concrete
- as struck finish
EvelynWorks,
Persistence Grace Academy
Sheffield South Bank,
Zaha Hadid
Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios Dennis Lasdun
/ Buro Happold
Ply facing formwork:

Smooth, large format

sheets (2440 x1220)

Shiny, matte or slight

timber grain
Ply facings

• Phenolic Film Faced Panels = Smooth Shiny finish to the concrete

• Medium density overlay (MDO) / Paper Faced Panels = Matt non-

shiny surface finish to the concrete
• High Density Overlay (HDO) = shinier surface
.
Timber faced formwork
1 Centaur St Kensington Church St
dRMM /AKT 5th Studio / Price & Myers

Scaffolding boards pressure

Saw cut timber facing
washed and wire brushed to
expose grain
Understand formwork qualities

Range of
properties
including:

•Potential
repeated use

•Cost

•Permeability

•Finish
Column form work

Prefabricated steel Bespoke ply Prefabricated

faced cardboard
Formwork systems

Fast and efficient formwork

and falsework systems
 • Agree surface
tolerances
• Joint details
• Board fixings (usually
from behind so
hidden)

Westminster underground station

Hopkins Architects
 Set out formwork

Ref: Burwell Deakin Architects

• Design intent drawing by architects

• Contractors proposals agreed before construction
Set tie bolt positions
(design intent)

The Forum
ADP / AKS Ward
Describe details
Define extent of embedded
services or patterns

Greenfields House

Richards Partington Architects

Consider day work joints

• Describe/agree where day

joints are to be avoided
• Consider expressing joint
for large areas

Old Road Campus Research Building, Oxford

Make Architects /Peter Brett
Specify concrete mix

Use a Designed mix to correct ‘recipe’ not a designated

mix
(Proprietary mixes are also possible)
Define concrete mix
requirements
e.g:
• Cement content – minimum 350Kg/m3
• Sand content – not more than twice the cement
content.
• Total aggregate – not more than six times the cement
content.
• Coarse Aggregate – For 20mm max. size not more than
20% to pass a 10mm sieve.
• Consistence – 125 to 150 slump S3
• Water/Cement ratio – 0.5 or less.
 • Consider self–compacting
concrete designed for visual
concrete walls or columns

Lincoln Museum
Panter Hudspith /Price & Myers
 Define cement blend parameters
Fly ash
GGBS Portland cement
CEM Addition
replacement, %

I ~ 0–5

Silica fume 6 – 10
IIA
Fly ash 6 – 20
Ordinary Portland Cements
IIB-V 21 – 35
• Different cements have Fly ash
IVB-V 36 – 55
different colours
IIB-S 21 – 35
• Cement replacement
lower eCO2 IIIA GGBS 36 – 65

• Note: High % cement IIIB 66 – 80

replacement impacts on
early strength gain BS 8500-1
GGBS and FA low carbon cements

Aquatics Centre, Angel Building, London

Zaha Hadid Architects / ARUP AHMM /AKT

GGBS is pale/white Fly Ash is dark grey

(30% in diving boards) (34%)
 Concrete colour

• Don’t be too specific

at tender
• Consider impact of
lighting

The Forum, Norwich

Hopkins Architects
The Forum, Norwich
Hopkins Architects
Pigmented concrete

Paju, Korea courtesy of Lanxess pigments

Obtain Trial mixes

White Concrete

Constituent parts
Concrete uses local materials

• Aggregate properties
vary across UK
• Self sufficiency in UK
(with permission to
source)
• Variety in regional
sands and aggregates
also effect colour
Specify use of control panel(s)
and mock up

• To test mix/formwork/release
agent/ curing time/workmanship
combination
• To agree final finish & making good
Choose appropriate tie bolts,
covers and spacers

• Specify types appropriate for visual concrete. I.e. with

minimal appearance on face of concrete
• Colour match where possible
Spacers in floors

Snake Spacer Continuous Block Line Spacer

Blockspacer Plastic Line Spacer

Consider weathering
or finishing coats
Evelyn Grace Academy, Brixton Loughborough Design School
Zaha Hadid Architects Burwell Deakins Architects

eg silane or siloxane coating or silicate based pigmented coating

Specification – NBS, E-Sections
E05 In-situ Concrete generally

E10 Cast In-situ Concrete

E11 Sprayed In-situ Concrete

E20 Formwork – Finishes

E30 Reinforcement
• Collate all ‘special’
concrete E40 Designed Joints
requirements in one E41 Worked Finishes
section
E60 Precast Concrete
• Use headings with
expanded
requirements
The National Structural Concrete
Specification for Building
Construction – NSCS v 4
• Definitive, simple and
straightforward

• Prepared by the industry

– clients, designers,
contractors and
specialists

• Aims to benefit all, with

information collected
together in one place

• Download free pdf:

http://www.construct.org.uk/index.
php/useful-stuff/publications
Tender process

• Experience/understanding
• Method statement
• Consistency
• Quality control
• Communication
Workmanship
• Consistency
• Grout tight joints
• Release agent application
• Cleanliness
• Placing and compacting
• Consistent striking times
• Even curing
• Weather protection
Making good

• Some likely to be required

• Method to be agreed before carried out
• Specialist work
Concrete Centre publications

www. concretecentre.com
Various Concrete Society
publications
Further reading
Collaboration
Central St Martins College of Art,
Stanton William/ Scott Wilson
 THANK YOU

etoogood@concretecentre.com

@elainetoogood

Sculptural retaining wall, Redruth

Walter Jacks Studio