Just aggregate, cement, and water?

When I in my private environment, far removed from our industry – out myself as a specialist editor for an internationally distributed media brand that deals with precast concrete elements – I regularly experience astonishment as to how a mixture of aggregate, cement and water can provide material for exciting editorial reports. When I then mention that our print and e-paper editions are published monthly, and that we provide our readers with important online news almost daily, I often look into amazed, sometimes almost confused faces. Then I start to explain: I talk about an industrial sector that is essential to our construction industry, which is currently undergoing exciting changes and doing everything it can to find solutions to the major challenges of our time. If someone would ask me today what is exciting about concrete components, I would probably tell them about my trip to Switzerland a few weeks ago. I had the privilege of being present when the White Tower of Mulegns was inaugurated. Tor Alva is the tallest 3D-printed building in the world. The tower was designed for the Origen Cultural Foundation in collaboration with ETH Zurich. What impresses me most about this project is the merging of art and research. The symbiosis of artistic expression, digital research, and contemporary architecture has resulted in a unique structure. Research results provide a substantial contribution to the sustainable transformation of the construction industry.

    You can read an article about the White Tower on p. 40 ff. You should also not miss the plant report on our visit to Jasto and its paint batching system from the company Scholz on p. 20 ff. Enjoy reading.