the aim of this study is to examine the quality of fair-faced concrete surfaces with respect to differently saturated mixtures. technical literature recommends an oversaturated concrete composition with 20-40 l/m 3 in the case of fair-faced concrete [1]. this paper evaluates the implementation of 4 mixtures made with different saturation degree (22, 55, 88, 121 l/m 3 ) of the cement paste, fixed quality formwork and release agent. A unique formwork was used for implementation of the specimens, which enabled to examine the critical points of the fairfaced concrete technology (oblique surfaces, sharp-angled corner, exclusion) and the effect of the different absorbent form liners (plywood and steel). the main aspects of the evaluation of the surfaces were porosity, discoloration and the texture based on Hungarian standard [2] and German guideline [3]. compressive strength of mixtures was examined on standard cubes at 7 and 28 days of age. Based on the results the optimal saturation degree was high beyond the recommended value in the tested range with respect to the surface quality of the specimens. However, the compressive strength was reduced by increasing the saturation degree, which is an observable point in the design of fair-faced concrete members. keywords: fair-faced concrete, concrete technology, saturation degree, surface-quality kitti károlyfi Graduated as an Architect at istván széchenyi university in 2016. PhD student at the Department of structural and Geotechnical engineering (sze). main research area: concrete technology, fair-faced concrete.

This article describes the conceptual design process of an equestrian centre, presenting the covered stadium of the building complex in detail, designed it as a free-form, wide-span steel structure. The main goal of this study is to present the application of the parametric design method through a case study and to examine the interoperability opportunities between architectural and structural design software.

Modern architecture is unimaginable without fair-faced concrete. However, there is no generally accepted method for design the suitable concrete composition to get the required surface quality. This paper presents the effect of saturation degree on fair-faced concrete surfaces and raises additional research areas with regard to the formwork geometry and packing density of aggregate. This study is the first part of a wider research that aims to work out a method for determination of the adequate saturation degree of cement paste depending on the geometrical proportions of the formwork to reach the highest surface quality.

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Decisions made in the early design stage have a significant effect on a building’s performance and environmental impact. In practice, a conceptual design is performed by an architect, while a structural engineer begins to work in later phases when the architectural concept has already evolved. However, the geometry and form of a building directly determine the type of structure and applicable materials; therefore, the conceptual design phase gives rise to examining alternative solutions. This paper presents a method for generating alternative structural solutions in the conceptual design phase and examining their embodied environmental impact by integrating parametric design and building information modeling (BIM). Rhinoceros and Grasshopper were used to develop the parametric script, which includes the generation of geometrical variations, the automatic definition of initial cross sections for the load-bearing elements based on in-built structural design approximations, the datasets for embodied environmental impact of the used building materials, the generation of life cycle inventory (LCI), the automatic calculation of life cycle assessment (LCA) results based on the geometry, and the conversion of the parametric model into building information model. The method was demonstrated using a case study of 48 different alternative solutions for an unheated warehouse made of steel frames. Based on the results, the areas with the greatest energy impact were identified. The case study analysis also illustrated that the applied cross section may have a significant effect on the impact categories. The results draw attention to the complexity of LCA calculations even in the case of a simple structure containing a limited number of variables, where parametric design can serve as an effective tool for a comprehensive environmental impact assessment.