< PreviousIn an ever-industrializing world, landscapes turn from forests and plains to concrete roads and high rises as cities expand and develop. But 21st century urban architecture doesn’t resemble the dull and dreary factory lanes of Europe during the Industrial Revolution. In modern, global cities around the world, innovators are finding ways to use concrete that are better for the environment, safer, and more aesthetically pleasing.Written by Samita SarkarThere’s nothing more frustrating to a construction profes-sional than when a concrete project cracks. Cracks are not just unattractive, but potentially unsafe. Concrete cracks are sites for future leakages, meaning unhappy clients and in extreme cases, collapsed buildings. Unfortunately, all concrete structures will crack eventually, whether in one year or one thousand. In fact, the architects of the Roman Empire, which is admired to this day for its splendour, used a unique concrete that allowed for sightly structures that withstood the test of time through the chemical properties of the concrete. According to American Mineralogist journal, the use of lime and volcanic ash in these ancient structures added a rare mineral to the concrete called aluminum tobermorite. It crystallizes in lime while curing, under exposure to sea water. Even though water is traditionally thought of as an agent of erosion in the construction sector, water exposure actually reinforced these Roman wonders.APRIL 201910“Research has shown us that there is more than one way to make self-healing concrete.”Concrete that works with natureToday, modern scientists are finding other ways to work with nature, rather than against it, as we build our concrete jungles. Research has shown us that there is more than one way to make self-healing concrete. For instance, Henk Jonkers, a professor and microbiologist at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has invented “living concrete,” also known as bioconcrete. CNN Business reports that Jonkers’ concrete – like regular concrete but with an extra “healing ingredient” – is made with a resilient kind of bacteria that can survive the harsh and dry environment of concrete, becoming active only if the concrete cracks and water leaks into it. Jonkers hopes that this concrete could be “the start of a new age of biological buildings.”Because concrete is very dry and basic, the bacillus bacteria was chosen, as it thrives in basic conditions. Bacillus is usually found near active volcanoes, and their spores can live for decades without sustenance. The bioconcrete also contains calcium lactate capsules to feed the bacteria. When water enters a bio-concrete crack, the capsules are released, the bacteria feed on the calcium lactate, and they create calcium carbonate (lime-stone), which plugs the cracks. Interestingly, IndustryTap writes that spraying a liquid containing the bacteria onto concrete cracks is also an effective solution. “It is combining nature with construction materials,” Henk Jonkers told CNN. “Nature is supplying us a lot of functionality for free – in this case, limestone-producing bacteria.”Using bacillus bacteria might not be the only way. Trichoderma reesei, which is actually a type of fungus that also produces limestone, may be another method of creating self-healing concrete, according to researchers from Rutgers University and Binghamton University. In Technology Review, it is mentioned that the mushroom spores can survive in extreme basicity, up to pH 13. However, they’re not as resilient as bacillus, and will need to live in bubbles in the concrete. Further research is needed to see whether this alternative is viable. 11CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS More than just shades of greyMoreover, in 2014, Google launched the partnership with art experts to bring Google users a virtual exhibition of graffiti from around the world. “The tran-sient nature of street art means it can be at risk of being scrubbed out and lost forever to its legions of fans. But long after the paint has faded from the walls, technology can help preserve street art, so people can discover it wherever and whenever they like,” Lucy Schwartz, Program Manager at Google Cultural Institute wrote for the When the hydrophobic NeverWet® spray entered the market in 2013, Atlanta-based artist Nathan Sharatt saw an opportunity for innovation in the graffiti world. He created a rain drawings project with stencils. Then, he submitted the work as part of a Home Depot contest for creative uses of the waterproofing spray “It isn’t just the way that concrete looks or is made – indeed, even the way it is applied is completely changing in the modern metropolis.”Gone are the days when graffiti was dis-missed as a public nuisance. Now, it is appreciated as a legitimate art form with the potential to transform otherwise plain concrete street corners. One of the most famous street artists is Banksy, a mysterious (and still anony-mous!) 45-year-old English multimedia artist who has been active since the 90s. Though his identity has never been confirmed, his work has been featured in countless art shows, he was profiled in The Guardian, and his documentary even received an Academy Award nomi-nation. Banksy is known for his eye-catch-ing, edgy, and sometimes iconoclastic style. As USA Today writes, many celeb-rities, including Bono, Angelina Jolie, and Christina Aguilera own Banksy originals, so it is safe to say that this elusive artist’s work has gone mainstream. system, beautifying the city at the same time. Though the spray does wear off with soap and abrasion – you can think of the works as temporary tattoos for the inanimate – the technique puts a smile on pedestrians’ faces. When residents see unexpected messages like Sharatt’s “The sun’ll come out tomorrow” or “I’m only happy when it rains” pop up on wet sidewalks, they can’t help but feel that their day has just gotten a little brighter. What’s next in store for the genre of street art? Quartz Media believes people will soon be doing graffiti in augment-ed reality (AR). AR technology means people can look at (and create) the world around them through the lens of an app on their smartphone, as we saw with the Pokémon GO craze a couple of years ago. As Quartz Media states, “AR turns physical sites into a blank canvas for the creation of new content.”APRIL 201912The use of robotics on modern construction sites1) https://streetart.withgoogle.com/en/2) https://blog.google/outreach-initiatives/arts-culture/the-world-is-canvas-introducing-street/It isn’t just the way that concrete looks or is made – indeed, even the way it is applied is completely changing in the modern metropolis. Tech startups funded by venture capital firms are developing robots to make construction work both faster and safer. For instance, Built Robotics is a new business on the block that is developing technology for unmanned construction vehicles, including self-driving bulldozers. Meanwhile, AutonomouStuff provides autonomy systems components to make mega-machines for miners that can control them from thousands of miles away. Construction Junkie notes that this equipment is a boon in an industry where workers have braved hostile, remote work environments. Of course, such conditions can also be dan-gerous to one’s long-term health, which is another reason we are seeing an auto-mation push in the industry. Other trades within the construction umbrella are also getting a makeover. A bricklaying robot was created by Construction Robotics in 2016, which received early stage R&D funding from the National Science Foundation. The SAM (Semi-Automated Mason) robot works alongside masons to ease the traditionally backbreaking labour that comes with the trade. The changes are coming fast, and have made some people within the field feel a bit uneasy. However, such changes also bring about newer, safer jobs in a booming industry with an abun-dance of work to be done. “We need all of the robots we can get, plus all of the workers working, in order to have economic growth,” Michael Chui, a partner at McKinsey Global Institute in San Francisco, told The Associated Press. “As machines do some of the work that people used to do, the people have to migrate and transition to other forms of work, which means lots of retraining.”Construction has come a long way since the famous, vertigo-inducing Lunch atop a Skyscraper photo was captured at New York’s Rockefeller Center circa 1932. Just a look at the sidewalks of Manhattan reveals the leaps in con-struction that were taken by the city that Jay-Z dubbed the “concrete jungle where dreams are made.” It’s interest-ing to witness cities around the world as they change their look, and what’s more, change the very way that they grow. EMPIRE BLENDEDAPRIL 201914Empire Blended, of Bayville, New Jersey, has over seventy years of dedicated work as a family-run manufacturer of specialty cement products with more product choice than any other firm. We spoke with its Vice President Randy Gornitzky to find out more.Written by Mark GolombekThe company was founded in 1946 in Newark, New Jersey, by Murray Gornitzky. At that time, the business produced supplies for paint, tile, and floor grout. He manufactured a tremendous amount of whitewash, which was popular at the time. In 1960, he acquired the Rainbow brand line of pigments for paint and supplied small paint stores all over the Northeast. “Over the years, that has adapted to the market, and there are no longer all those paint stores, but it is a very popular line of color for mortar and all different kinds of cement products. It is still a very well-known brand in the Northeast, with a different use,” says Randy. In 1976, Murray’s son Jay entered the family business. He took the company further into the direction of private packaging, toll blending, and contract work to harness the strength of its manufacturing abilities, increasing the production of grouts, mortars, and patching materials. He continued to expand that area also with private label and contract packaging.In 1991, Jay teamed with New Jersey Pulverizing, maker of Ace-Crete, and room was needed, so the two companies built a new space in Bayville, next to the New Jersey Pulverizing facility, and this is where the company is now. “The benefit to this partnership was that New Jersey Pulverizing produced all of the dry graded sand that Empire Blended used in their specialty and cement products. In exchange, Empire Blended contract packaged all the specialty items for Ace-Crete,” says Randy, noting that this has been “a mutually ben-eficial relationship.”15CONSTRUCTION IN FOCUS 2017125_IPG Quality Colors Full Page Ad Resize.indd 13/11/19 3:18 PMAce-Crete always wanted to get into the specialties business but did not know how. Empire wanted to expand but did not have the financial resources necessary. The partnership enabled both companies to succeed. That partnership lasted until March of 2018 when the acquisition was officially closed.Randy joined the company in 2009. He had worked for his father over summers out of high school and college but never consid-ered working there full-time and instead chose to get involved in investment banking looking to do operations management and corporate development for a much larger company. “While I was in the investment banking program, my father had an opportunity to start a distribution business, with no desire to do it on his own. He was in his late fifties, so he called me, and that is when I went into the business to start and run it,” says Randy.Since 2009, the distribution business has expanded, and Randy has been much more involved. In 2013, Jay stepped down, and Randy ran both the manufacturing and distribution aspects of the business. Jay still works full-time but in a lesser capacity. The company continues to grow, and the distribution company is now three times the size as when Randy started.Empire Blended prides itself on being capable of doing anything as a one-stop-shop. It can now run the sand plant, dye, and screen all its own sand, which is the primary compo-nent of everything it makes.“We have two different production facilities that can just about do any type of packaging, and now we own the trucking company to deliver the product. We work with our customers on product design, packaging, and sourcing in order to facili-tate everything,” says Randy.Its customers want to do business without worrying, and the company’s adaptability helps. Clients have different formulas and ways of doing things, but Empire is up to the task. It has relationships with raw materials packaging suppliers that can supply anything the customer wants. The majority of what it does is for companies looking to have products made for them. Empire becomes the manufacturer, and its customers do the marketing and selling.“Its customers want to do business without worrying, and the company’s adaptability helps.”APRIL 201916 2017125_IPG Quality Colors Full Page Ad Resize.indd 13/11/19 3:18 PM “There are all different kinds of companies that manufacture specialty cement products, materials, grouts, mortars, and colored products. Some of our customers use us as their exclu-sive blender for all their products that are shipped all over the world,” says Randy.The range of products made by Empire is vast. Products are used for typical infrastructure repair of airports, runways, bridges, highways, buildings, and sidewalks. In the construc-tion industry, it makes specialty pipeline materials and products designed for retail trade like Home Depot and other stores. This broad range of capabilities makes it stand out. There may be competition, but none those companies can come close to accomplishing the range of things it performs.“We even do sculpting mixes, casting mixes, and specialty topping mixes. All kinds of decorative substances. Anything that falls into the realm of cement sanding chemicals or any combination of that in any package size. That is what we do,” says Randy.The company is truly independent, whereas most firms that do contract packaging or blending use it as a side business. Its loyalty lies with those for whom it packages. Companies feel comfortable with this because they know that Empire is not looking to compete with them. “From the different types of products and packaging to the logistics services behind that and flexibility in the office. Because we make our business on contract packaging, we liter-ally have an entirely different customer service process for each of our major customers. It runs in terms of how they want the shipment documented or how the transportation is accom-plished,” says Randy. On any given day, the company could be following fifteen paperwork systems to write up orders. Finding good labor is the main challenge for this company that values work ethic over skill sets. “Experience and/or education is not a game breaker. All we ask is that you show up and work well. We are having a very hard time with that. We find that we lose people quickly, and finding others is difficult,” says Randy. It takes very little for it to let somebody someone go for safety violations or poor attendance as there are many factors forcing the company’s hand regarding OSHA and MSHA regulations. “Because we make our business on contract packaging, we literally have an entirely different customer service process for each of our major customers.”APRIL 201918 In the past few years, there has been an enormous expansion of Empire’s decorative concrete products, including coloring for concrete and other types of ornamental work. People seem to want more beauty, even in items like sound walls for highways.“They want it colored and textured, rather than generic concrete. Rosetta and Readi-Rock type walls are going towards colored and textured. More people are choosing color pre-cast rather than generic pre-cast. We do a lot of work within the color market,” says Randy.Empire works on custom-colored patch material for various his-torical restorations, which is a big market in the northeast part of the country. On older buildings that need restoration, the aim is to match mortar and concrete that has been in the wall for over one hundred years.“We do a lot of that and a lot of custom jobs now that architects are being more specific about what colors or mixtures they want. A lot of that work within the decorative concrete business has been an enormous push for us as we keep growing in that area,” says Randy.Looking forward, it will continue to open more facilities. With the new acquisition this year, it will go from one to two, and it is actively working on constructing a third. In ten years, Randy sees Empire running three fully operational facilities and starting to work on a fourth, in addition to a tremendous amount of expansion on the current plant. Since the facility was built, it has always been adding new equipment, warehouses, offices, laboratory space, and produc-tion lines. It will continue to expand current facilities and grow at a steady pace. The trucking company will also broaden. 19Next >