The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is the city's newest and greenest office building. The certified LEED-Platinum, award-winning project is a 13-story, 277,500 square‐foot building that serves as the new headquarters for the SFPUC. The project showcases key sustainability features and is considered a leading example in demonstrating energy efficiency, water recycling, and reduced carbon footprint among major office buildings in the United States.  

Original plans for the SFPUC called for a 12-story building with a steel frame; however, the SFPUC ultimately decided to adopt a resilient post-tension concrete structure design, primarily in an effort to cut costs. This decision opened the project to other multiple advantages.

During the design phase, team members — KMD Architects, SOHA Engineers, Tipping Mar, and Webcor Builders — looked to Central Concrete, a U.S. Concrete company, to suggest solutions for meeting their aggressive goals. These goals included using a set of green concrete mixes that delivers up to 70% cement replacement materials and meets strength and workability requirements without compromising the concrete's finishability or delaying set-time. To address all of the requirements, Central Concrete needed to reduce the carbon emissions associated with each cubic yard of concrete and still deliver on the high-performance targets set by the project team members.

Central Concrete's concrete mix designs were put to test as soon as construction began. Approximately 5,000 cubic yards of concrete were used in the placement of the mat foundation, utilizing a mix with 70% cement replacement and required strength of 8,000 psi. Similar specifications were required for the columns and shear walls. Additionally, a special mix design was developed for the elevated slabs to meet the specified light reflectance criteria. The project design team was able to add a thirteenth floor due to the concrete’s reduced floor-to-floor height, and the concrete structure eliminated the sunlight-blocking beams. The resulting mix designs reduced the CO2 footprint by 50% — a reduction of 7.4 million pounds in CO2 emissions from embodied carbon.

The decision to switch from steel to a resilient post-tension concrete structure yielded environmental, structural design and cost advantages. The project team was able to trim the construction schedule and to secure $12 million in savings while significantly reducing the project’s carbon footprint and achieving points towards LEED certification. In addition, the project provided a strong example that a close collaboration among the concrete supplier, owner, and design team can lead to meeting and exceeding the ambitious goals for high-performance green solutions.

One of the highest profile projects in the country. One World Trade Center is part of the the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

The building's structural columns are comprised of steel and concrete. Innovative concrete core walls are used in combination with steel frames for lateral force resistance and exceptional security. With a multitude of safety systems exceeding the NYC Building Code and Port Authority requirements, the structural engineering provides extraordinary resistance and performance as well as advanced security systems for the building’s occupants.

For One World Trade Center, U.S. Concrete's EF Technology ® was proportioned using admixture supplier BASF's Green Sense™ concrete mixture optimization service, resulting in two high-strength core wall mixes that met and exceeded the project requirements. This combined technology resulted in significant enhancement to the strength and durability of the structure as well as environmental savings including more than 30,000 gallons of fresh water, 8 million kwh of energy, 12 million pounds of CO₂ emissions, and nearly 750,000 pounds of fossil fuel.

After suffering significant damage in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, The California Academy of Sciences needed a new home. Sustainability and conservation have long been a part of the Academy’s history. Consequently, the strategy was to create a new building that would not only hold powerful exhibitions, but serve as a tangible example of environmentally superior construction.

Keeping the mission of the Academy in mind, it was necessary to pull “green” elements into all aspects of design and construction. The architectural team’s hallmark of the project is the 2.5 acre “live roof” with iconic rolling hills, serving as a thermal insulating layer for the building. It is projected to consume 30-35% less energy than required by code.

Because of the Academy’s unique design requirements, multiple critical applications of concrete were implemented to achieve the desired effect. The aquarium tanks designed with complex geometries could only be cast in concrete. The primary architectural finish of the interior walls of the exhibit hall was built with as-cast architectural concrete. Concrete was also used as an integral part of the building’s mechanical system and also serves as a thermal massing element. As one of the more abundant building materials used for construction, it was important to choose mixes that were both environmentally friendly, high performing and durable. All mixes needed to leverage sustainable materials and meet an ultra low shrinkage requirement for the aquarium tanks, with the addition of a wall mix that could deliver an as-cast ‘A+’ architectural finish.

Central Concrete, a division of U.S. Concrete provided approximately 35,000 cubic yards of concrete utilizing our environmentally friendly technology (EF Technology ®) concrete mixes for the construction of the California Academy of Sciences project. By using EF Technology ® concrete mixes, 9.2 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂) were prevented from entering the environment. Use of reclaimed
by-products, fly ash and slag, as well as regionally extracted supplies of aggregates, in the production of the concrete greatly contributed to the building’s LEED rating.

Securing the project in 2009 through Hensel Phelps Construction Company, U.S. Concrete Precast Group has completed the production of
130 pre-stressed, green concrete U-beams for the Sky Train Project at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.   Production of high strength
U-beams began at U.S. Concrete Precast Group’s manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona in February of 2010 utilizing environmentally friendly concrete mix designs, EF Technology®, which can have a carbon footprint 30 percent lower than standard concrete mix designs.  This proprietary technology not only provides enhanced performance of the concrete products and a reduced environmental footprint, but can also provide credits toward LEED certification.  The U-beams are an integral part of Phase One of the Sky Train project and are designed as the platform for the future elevated people mover at Sky Harbor International Airport, which is expected to be completed in 2013. 

Inspired by nature yet responsive to the urban environment only a few miles away, the Trinity River Audubon Center is designed to allow people, forest, river and wildlife to coexist. It is with nature in mind that the facility is planned for LEED Gold certification. As visitors enter the forest, they will transition to the river ecosystems and appreciate the uniqueness of this forgotten place.

In response to all the sustainable featrues presented by the project, US-Concrete's Dallas operation,Redi-Mix Concrete, LLC, supplied 10,026 cubic yards of low carbon concrete mixes including 30% fly ash, 50% pier mix, resulting in 1,800,000 lbs of CO2 prevention,

U.S. Census Bureau Headquarters in Suitland, Maryland is the largest General Services Administration (GSA) project of this type to date, with 1.5 million square feet of space and two parking structures providing 3100 parking spaces totaling an additional one million square feet

The new Census Bureau headquarters uses a synthetic/steel fiber blend in the concrete over metal deck floors. Supplementary steel reinforcement was used to provide continuity over areas of negative moments. Approximately 1.3 million-square-feet of concrete was used in the decking. The synthetic fibers worked to reduce the formation of plastic shrinkage and settlement cracks, allowing the concrete to develop to its optimum long-term integrity. With Superior Concrete's use of these special mixes, Skanska, the General Contractor, was able to cut several days from its placement schedule, speeding up the overall construction timeline.

Glass House Dallas is a 375-unit, 22-story luxury residential high rise in Uptown Dallas. The predominately glass tower rises 18 floors above a 4-level stucco and glass parking podium. A lavish pool, 3,500 SF free standing clubhouse, and a landscaped amenity area are located on the 4th level and offer stunning views of downtown and the surrounding Uptown area. The residential units average 989 square feet, ten foot ceilings in the living space and offer granite counter tops, ceramic tile baths, and large expanses of glass providing great views and natural light. Each unit has private balconies or outdoor terraces. 

Glasshouse Dallas is registered LEED® Silver certified. In addition to standard, premium and penthouse units, Glasshouse includes “green” units that feature recycled glass counter tops, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and bamboo flooring.

During construction, JE Dunn diverted 75% of construction waste from landfills to recycle centers and maximized the use of regional materials and recycled content for building materials, including 30,000 cubic yards (3,172 tons of fly ash) of EF Technology concrete from Redi-Mix Concrete, LLC, a U.S. Concrete’s company in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Other “green” practices that were utilized include using low VOC emitting materials, water-efficient landscaping and an indoor air-quality management plan. The project resulted in total of 6,344,00 lbs of CO2 prevention.