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Architects/Builders
	Concrete and LEED Research & Development Resource Center Request Information

U.S. Concrete focuses on helping architects, builders, and engineers achieve their design and building objectives. As design innovations and environmental sensibility continue to evolve, we understand the need for sustainable, low carbon concrete products that perform and help translate innovative designs into structural forms, while reducing environmental impact.

In the simplest term, concrete conserves resources by reducing the need for reconstruction, but that is not what concrete is all about. Increasingly, concrete is being recognized for it's life cycle environmental and economical benefits, from extraction and production, to construction, maintenance and disposal. Furthermore, architects and engineers are discovering the advantages of concrete construction as the quality construction material that stands the test of time. The emerging concrete technologies are opening new possibilities for concrete architecture, and inspiring contemporary architects and designers around the world.

The use of concrete in building benefits everyone: owners, designers, builders, occupants, and the environment

For designers - Not only has concrete proved to be the material of mass structures, but also has become architectural facades, surfaces, and even furniture – the possibilities of its applications seem to be getting broader every day.
Precast concrete provides many functional and design structural benefits. The flexible aesthetic possibilities of precast concrete make it a building material that can fit into any design.
Concrete can help achieve LEED certification.
Recycled materials in concrete reduce CO₂ emission.
Concrete pavement can be used to reduce urban heat islands. Concrete's light color reflects more energy and absorb less heat, thereby reducing energy usage and costs.
Pervious concrete helps conserve storm water runoff by offering a porous structure that allows rainwater to pass directly through the pavement and into the soil naturally. See sustainable construction.
Concrete's extreme durability and strength allows architects to design longer spans with less supporting columns making more usable floor space available.
Concrete's superior strength protects against storms and natural disasters. Additionally, concrete construction offers a high level of fire resistance.
The availability of materials with on-site or cast-in-place concrete provides project managers with significant time savings, as opposed to long delivery time for another construction materials like steel.