Thanks to its palpable technological advances, concrete is today experiencing a form of renaissance, asserting itself as a cost-effective and sustainable material. With improved technical and environmental performances and more aesthetically appealing, modern concrete has been the facilitator for a large number of landmark achievements, such as the Millau Viaduct, the Jean Bouin stadium in Paris and the MuCem in Marseille.
It has also quietly found its way inside buildings, adorning floors and walls and making an entry into kitchens and bathrooms. It allows for a wide range of forms, color effects and surface treatments. Its color palette (grey, white, pigmented) is just as comprehensive as the spectrum of aspects of which it is capable: polished, waxed, washed, printed, etc.
Architects and designers naturally drawn to this material have succeeded in leveraging its huge potential in both structures and decoration. From buildings to engineering structures, from interior charm to tableware, concrete is making its delightful mark on our era.
At World of Concrete Europe (WOC Europe), the entire concrete industry will congregate in Paris as part of the upcoming INTERMAT trade show. WOC Europe will be one of the headline features of the global trade event for equipment, machinery and technology for the construction industry, to be held from April 20 to 25, 2015 at Paris-Nord Villepinte.
With this new initiative, INTERMAT will showcase a fully-exhaustive product range aimed at the concrete industry, spanning from the primary stages of the concrete cycle (materials, products and additives) to final application (decorative concretes, coatings and mortars, engineering and services).
WORLD OF CONCRETE EUROPE SEMINAR SCHEDULE
Free admission. Simultaneous translation provided in French and English.
Tuesday 21 April 2015
10.00 – 11.30: Inaugural plenary presentation by Rudy Ricciotti, architect and engineer, Grand Prix National d’Architecture in 2006, Gold medal of the French Académie d’Architecture
- Rudy Ricciotti will present his major on-going projects.
14.00 - 15.00: Concrete curing
- How to conserve the qualities of concrete from fresh to hardened. Why and how to cure concrete.
- Speaker: Gregory Kubisztal, Chairman of SYNAD Marketing Commission
15.15 – 16.15: Decorative concretes
- Decorative concretes: are there any limits to creativity?
- Speakers: Frédéric Ljung, President of MODERNE METHODE; and Mike Archambault, member of the prestigious “Decorative concrete Hall of Fame” and Technical Director at MODERNE METHODE.
16.30 – 17.15: Concrete maintenance
- Cleaning and prevention maintenance by applying resins.
- Speaker: Benoît Baulande, member of VECU committee (roads, public spaces and amenities sites)
- Structural maintenance of concrete. The latest on cracks, spalling, seams, etc.
- Speaker: Christophe Chevalier (Member of SPECBEA)
Wednesday 22 April 2015
10.00 – 11.00: The new concrete standard NF EN 206/CN: for high-quality concretes and sustainable structures
- Speaker: CIMBETON
11.15 – 12.15: New characteristics of special and innovative concretes
- Insulating, draining and self-cleansing/depolluting concretes
- Speaker: CIMBETON.
13.45 – 14.45: Risk prevention: concrete curing
- Why cure? What are the consequences of not curing? How to prevent cracking.
- Speaker: Benoît Baulande, member of SYNAD Technical Commission
15.00 – 16.00: Repair methods for thin concrete
- Speaker: Giovanni Martinola, Materials Science Engineer, Member of SYNAD
Thursday 23 April 2015
10.00 – 11.00: Decorative concrete
- Finishing, techniques and methods
- Speaker: VECU committee (roads, public spaces and amenities sites)
11.15 – 12. 15: Workshop by CEMEX
13.45 – 14.45: Workshop by SIKA
- Presentation of SIKA’s technical concrete expertise, in particular through its Sika Watertight Concrete.
15.00 – 16.00: Workshop by YARA
- Calcium Nitrate as Corrosion Inhibitor
- Speaker: Grégory Aillet, Head of Nitrates Sales, Yara France
16.15 – 17.15: Workshop by CHRYSO
Friday 24 April 2015
15.00 – 16.00: Workshop by WAM France