To: "homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org" <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [Homestead] Concrete you can see through
Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2004 20:44:00 -0700
Concrete You Can See Through
By BRENDAN I. KOERNER
Published: December 12, 2004
Concrete has figured heavily in numerous architectural monstrosities, not
least because the cheap, durable substance oozes despair and seems to suck
up light. But this year, at the National Building Museum in Washington, the
architect Aron Losonczi helped rehabilitate concrete's cheerless reputation
by demonstrating a new version of the substance more akin to glass than
granite.
Losonczi, a 28-year-old from Csongrad, Hungary, is the inventor of LiTraCon
(shorthand for ''light-transmitting concrete''), which is made by adding
glass or plastic fibers to the usual blend of gravel, sand, cement and
water. A LiTraCon wall, though sturdy, is as translucent as an oilskin
lampshade. Shadows seep through from one side to the other, even if the
slab is of prison-grade thickness.
Losonczi has created a company to market his brainchild, but buildings made
of LiTraCon are most likely way off. Translucent concrete is tough enough
for the task, but the glass or plastic fibers make it too expensive for
most large-scale construction. The most sensible commercial use might be
see-through barriers of the sort that shield the halls of government from
car bombs. Since 9/11, the United States may have a bunker mentality, but
that doesn't mean our bunkers need be drab.