Trade Journals for the Concrete Industry

In many countries, architects prefer exposed concrete for attractive buildings and exposed engineering structures. The requirements to produce these kinds of concrete constructions are of course stringent considering the aesthetical acceptance criteria. Because of the difficulties in the erection process of exposed concrete structures, the results on these projects can sometimes be different from the plan. Thus, the need arises for establishing international guidelines and regulations to avoid legal proceedings between clients and contractors. The international understanding of aesthetic concrete is not standardized and as a result, it varies from country to country. To this end, several countries use their own regulations and guidelines for exposed concrete. This work shows the main points from selected regulations and guidelines of different countries and compares between them with regard to handling of aesthetic concrete. Moreover, systems used for classification of exposed concrete shall also be presented.