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Concrete you can see through

By | October 24, 2011, 6:34 PM PDT

Developed by Hungarian architect Aron Losonczi, LiTraCon (Light Transmitting Concrete) is the world’s first commercially available transparent concrete. The translucent material is created by combining concrete and thousands of optical fiber strands that act like aggregate. The optical fibers form a matrix between the two main surfaces of concrete block, connecting and directing light between the two block faces.

The fibers are oriented in a parallel pattern which produces a brighter side and a darker side of the block. The darker side reveals dramatic shadows and silhouettes. Making up just 4% of the total volume of the block, the optic fibers give the material a striated texture. The product is handmade, resulting in a unique pattern of light in each piece.

Since the optical fibers don’t suffer loss of light, the LiTraCon blocks can theoretically transmit light up to a thickness of 65 feet. The blocks of thicker dimensions could be used in load bearing structures since the glass fibers do not negatively affect the compressive strength of concrete.

The material has been used in projects around the world including the Museum Cella Septichora in Hungary, the Hungarian Embassy in Paris, and the Iberville Parish Veterans Memorial in Louisiana.

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Sun Joo Kim

About Sun Joo Kim

Sun Joo Kim is a contributing editor for SmartPlanet.

Sun Joo Kim

Sun Joo Kim

Contributing Editor, Architecture

Sun Joo Kim is an architect and creative consultant based in Boston. Her projects include design and master planning of museums, public institutions, hospitals, and university buildings across the U.S. She holds a degree from Carnegie Mellon University and is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Follow her on Twitter.

Sun Joo Kim

Sun Joo Kim

Sun Joo is an independent architectural designer who contracts with design firms. She does not hold any investments in the companies she covers.

She writes for SmartPlanet and is not an employee of CBS.

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+4 Votes
+ -
Transparent Concrete!
While appreciating the spirit behind the innovation,I wonder what is the cost involved against the benefits? I saw in the picture transparent objects.

I am afraid it may not be suitable in the REST ROOM! grin..

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India
E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com
Posted by anumakonda.jagadeesh@...
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
REST ROOM
It's just a matter of design. I had a friend with a glass blocks bathroom....It was great. Curtains stores also are handy
Posted by Janus Horus
25th Oct
+2 Votes
+ -
Transparent concrete
While this will add to the aesthetic value of buildings, will the cost be within the reach of the people?
Posted by Hilloupayjou
25th Oct
0 Votes
+ -
Cost of any purchase
I have solved that problem. I developed a business arbitrage model to give a 100% rebate, or make all the financed payments for the buyer.

In search for a partner, to bring this venture to fruition.

Thomas
thomasadair@live.com
Posted by riskfreeinvesting
25th Oct
+2 Votes
+ -
Enquiry
I think we can do business. I work in Nigeria as Head of Communication for a construction company. I really want to know the cost.
Posted by Dipo Kehinde
26th Oct
+7 Votes
+ -
Use some imagination!
Are you people really suggesting that you can't imagine anyone actually using this? Of course people will use it! If nothing else, it would make parking garages less spooky and safer. But this will be a nice thing to put on the pallette of an imaginative architect. Light is beautiful, and beauty is important.
Posted by woundedegomusic@...
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Yes
Yes : )
That should be a no brainer -
Posted by mybunkaccount@...
25th Oct
+4 Votes
+ -
Lighting
Can add some cost efficiency to lighting and another option for improving green homes. More sun light; less electicity.
Posted by BSDj1981
25th Oct
+2 Votes
+ -
First transparent concrete...
First transparent concrete, but the question is... Will transparent aluminum be next!?
Posted by elangomatt
Updated - 25th Oct
+4 Votes
+ -
Science Fiction meets facts
Gene Rodenberry you???ve done it again. Well almost, Star Trek had transparent aluminum, I wonder???
Posted by pllamonica@...
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
re:Science Fiction meets facts
Is was thinking the same thing, but wasn't it called transparisteel? Or was that Star Wars?
Posted by jyatsko
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
fsk
that was star wars.
Posted by Ternarybit
25th Oct
+2 Votes
+ -
Hollywood
This stuff will allow directors to make some great new sillouette shots in movies!
Posted by woundedegomusic@...
25th Oct
0 Votes
+ -
Health Issues
I wonder just how safe this would be if say a earthquake or god forbid a Bomb were to cause it to shatter and one were to breath the dust.Concrete Bad, Glass worse .??
Posted by Tec1960
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Uh..wrong kind of glass
I hope your name isn't indicative of a technological bent, because if it is, you need to find a different name...
The "glass" they mention in this is not "glass" in the common idea of "glass" as in the type of "glass" you find in a soda-pop bottle...not big-chunks of glass, but instead super tiny fibers of glass strands as thin as a human hair! More like Fiberglass than actual glass...like the kind of stuff that the internet runs on.
Posted by tech_ed@...
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Wrong kind of glass
You mean, like asbestos?!!!!!
Posted by bruno_ann@...
26th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Same material
(NT)
Posted by Suncat2000
23rd Nov
+5 Votes
+ -
No, its not transparent.
Transparent would allow you to clearly see what is on the other side, like
glass does.This substance is translucent , like frosted glass. It allows light,
but diffuses it.

In any case, it still is not transparent cement, it cement with embedded
fibers that transmit light. It is no more transparent than a brick house
is that happens to have lots of windows. The fibers are distinct to
themselves.

I see this as being useful in jail cells and other secure buildings.
A jail could let in light yet not provide a weak point of entry. Likewise
a secure building gets to reduce its power output by allowing passive
light to enter w/o the risks involved with having glass which is far more
fragile.
Posted by richard233
Updated - 25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Yes, it is transparent concrete.
No, it is not "transparent cement" (or any other kind of cement. Read the title of the article, then go look up "transparent" and "concrete". "transparent" can mean "transmits light without scattering" (as pointed out by mybunkaccount). "Concrete" is a mixture including cement. It is no stretch at all to call this stuff "transparent concrete".
Posted by hscohen
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
...
It is transparent, because it uses glass conduit, no matter how miniscule. Optical fibers don't impede light, therefore at least some parts of the substrate are transparent.
Posted by Ternarybit
25th Oct
+2 Votes
+ -
Transparent Negative Halftone.
It is transparent - not translucent. But it's a 'transparent negative halftone'. The image that you see is not a translucent image - it's actual - but it's only a percentage of the field.
Posted by mybunkaccount@...
25th Oct
+2 Votes
+ -
transparent concrete
He was not the first one, and it was over 20 years ago. Look up ADTI and the patents and you will see it. We actually built some stuff to demonstrate it. And further more, Disney built some stuff like this more than 20 years ago also. this is just a recycling of the same old idea. Please, get the facts right.
Posted by stevensedlmayr
25th Oct
+3 Votes
+ -
Transparent concrete
I would direct your focus back to the first sentence of the article. It clearly says, "...first COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE...." A patent shows proof that it can be done, and private contractors building "samples" and individual projects do NOT constitute "commercially available" products.

The facts are in order, after all!
Posted by LaughingDog
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Just Somthing to Think About
Nothing says you half to use it, but in the thick of things if it brings in more light and you have to use less electricity that,s always a plus not to mention something that is pretty or nice to look at is always good also. As far as what happens if a earthquake hit or any disaster or any sort no kind of dust is good but nothing says this product can't be in proved upon. One thing that would be nice to happen is have it be affordable by the people and not just contractors and such.

Signed Just an Opinion
Posted by bookkeeper@...
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
"Nothing says...." colloquialism like colloquialisms
My friend (no, I am not a politician) Colloquialisms are ok--especially when we spell them correctly. Your word 'half' as used above is "wack" out of sink. Half means one half or 50% of something.

You were doubtless looking for 'have' -- as in 'have to'. The rest of your missive was entertaining once I got past the structure of your contractions.

Sorry to intrude, Have a nice day Mr. Bookkeeper wink
Posted by stan777@...
Updated - 25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Uhh...
I believe you meant to use the word "synch".
Posted by ShockMe
23rd Nov
+1 Vote
+ -
Uh-Uh
Sync is the krrect spelling.

@LaughingDog: The point goes to you. I, too, heard about this material decades ago, but never heard about anyone ever selling it.
Posted by Suncat2000
Updated - 23rd Nov
+1 Vote
+ -
translusent concrete
Plastic with dirt init, why didn't I think of that, The only problem is that it would burn unlike concrete, but it is stronger, to strong, you couldn't jack hammer that concrete, it would have the same propertys as poly ethalene but cheaper to make.
Posted by silleeellis
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
translucent not transparent
but they're using glass fiber, not plastic, so it's still non-flamable.
Posted by wizoddg
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Voyeur!
"Ethel! Put some clothes on!"

I think this would make more sense and lessen the voyeuristic tendency of this material if the gave the fiber-optics a little bit of a twist so that they all don't line up to display a perfect silhouette of your daughter taking a shower!
Posted by tech_ed@...
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
.
OR you could simply refuse to use restrooms and showers with this stuff in it. Stick to conventional concrete ya know.
Posted by ZazieLavender
25th Oct
-1 Votes
+ -
transparent concrete
It appears to be lovely and fascinating. If used in a load bearing structure, would it not need rebar, we would see the rebar through the material. Would the rebar need to be put in as if constructing a work of art? Can these be made into units like CMU, put together with mortar? So far, all the examples appear to be non-bearing screens. Also, it seems to have many joints in a small area .I am having difficulty understanding how it is used for load bearing walls while maintaining the aesthetics.
Posted by Faxon
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Re: the rebar
Actually, considering how it's fiber-optic fibers, it would be very easy to strengthen it with rebar without any real affect to the 'transparency'. Fiber optical strands can bend, and the bending does not cause a loss in what they can 'carry' through them. So as long as there were enough fibers from side to side, the rebar could be inserted, bending a few. As long as each fiber's 'endpoint' on either side was properly 'aligned' the light would show through just as easily and freely without a 'line' of rebar showing through also.
Posted by jonrosen
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Did it Mexico before?
As far as I know, in the Insitituto Politecnico Nacional (Polichtecnic National Insitute), some students get it 2 years ago.
Posted by jsmidences
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Wow!
And since they are handmade, creative people could make their own, starting an entire new business! How slick is that!
Posted by Indian.Maid
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
RFI
This is a great invention .
We have to know the costing of this great invention of concrete...as in cement, sand composition?

I guess we need a glue to bond them well since i cannot see reinforcement.
Please show more how its going to be done.
Posted by TM DESIGNS
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Translucent not transparent
I expect that the stuff is very pricey and thus you won't find it in parking garages, but you will find it in commercial & high end housing projects.

It adds an interesting option. But then, so do using glass bottles.

I expect that the strength is a minor factor--allowing the architect ignore load-bearing vs non-load-bearing walls (which is good primarily because architects are taught as artists first, engineering so that things actually work isn't there 'thing.')

Now all you have to do is use some permeable concrete in places you'd like a breeze to come through...
Posted by wizoddg
25th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
transpartent, translucent.....
regardless of the definition, its still very neat from an architectural engineering perspective. Thank you for sharing Sun
Posted by halfafrog
26th Oct
+1 Vote
+ -
Transparent it is not
Transparent implies that light can pass through in any direction. Fibre-optic cable is not classed as transparent, its classed as photo-conductive.

Cement is the binder in an aggregate used for building, we call that concrete to distinguish large particles from small particles, so it cant be called cement. It cant be called concrete either, as it isnt a particulate, its a fibre and has more in common with sheets of insulation or perhaps MDF.

Whatever you want to call it, its not new. Just an expensive fancy concrete designed to make money for those who have finally commercialised it - so its unlikely to be a world-changer.
Posted by SiO2
27th Oct
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