Reinforced concrete

Reinforced concrete pairs two materials that cover each other’s weaknesses. Concrete is strong in compression but cracks easily in tension; ribbed steel bars take the tensile forces. Their similar thermal expansion, and the way concrete protects the steel from corrosion, make the partnership last.

How a reinforced concrete building works

In a typical frame, slabs pass loads to beams, beams to columns and columns down to the foundations. Shear walls and well-detailed beam-column joints do the heavy lifting against earthquake forces, which is why they dominate structural design in seismic countries such as Turkey, where most housing is built this way. Stirrup spacing, bar hooks and concrete cover look like small details on paper, yet they decide how a building behaves when it is shaken.

Quality on site

• Concrete of the specified class, properly compacted with vibrators
• Reinforcement fixed to the drawings and inspected before the pour
• Adequate curing, keeping the concrete moist after casting

Architecturally, reinforced concrete can hide behind plaster and cladding or become the architecture itself as exposed concrete. In renders of exposed concrete, formwork marks, tie holes and slight tonal variation are what make the surface believable.