INTRODUCTION

Concrete is a material whose flexibility permits the architect and engineer to have great control over its form and visual appearance. In the material's past, its reputation as a material of economy has, on many occasions, allowed its aesthetic potential to be sidelined. However, it is becoming increasingly common to encounter beautiful concrete structures, where it is evident that significant consideration of the visual qualities of the material has been made at the design stage.

The appearance of the surface of concrete can be radically altered simply by the intelligent selection of its bulk materials. Moreover, the use of pigments and surface treatments permit the palette available to be extended still further. Increased understanding of the interactions between concrete surfaces and the environment have also lead to technologies and techniques which minimise undesirable deterioration of surface appearance.

Concrete is essentially unique in the field of construction materials in that it can be delivered to its point of use in a fluid state. Thus, very few limitations exist to the forms which can be created. Developments in fabrication techniques (such as sprayed concrete) and continued increments in innovative methods of formwork design and fabrication mean that concrete's versatility of form is steadily expanding. The option of using precast concrete extends this versatility still further, with the potential for complex preformed concrete elements to be supplied to construction sites with bespoke forms and surface preparations.

The Proceedings ‘Designing Concrete for the Visual Environment' dealt with all these subject areas and the issues raised in two clearly defined themes: (i) The Urban Environment and (ii) Radical Design and Form. Each theme started with a Keynote Paper presented by the foremost exponent in their respective fields. There were a total of 18 papers presented during the International Conference which are compiled into these proceedings.