Publisher’s version / Version de l'éditeur:
Technical Note (National Research Council of Canada. Division of Building Research), 1962-11-01
READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE.
https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/copyright
Vous avez des questions? Nous pouvons vous aider. Pour communiquer directement avec un auteur, consultez la première page de la revue dans laquelle son article a été publié afin de trouver ses coordonnées. Si vous n’arrivez pas à les repérer, communiquez avec nous à PublicationsArchive-ArchivesPublications@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca.
Questions? Contact the NRC Publications Archive team at
PublicationsArchive-ArchivesPublications@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca. If you wish to email the authors directly, please see the first page of the publication for their contact information.
NRC Publications Archive
Archives des publications du CNRC
For the publisher’s version, please access the DOI link below./ Pour consulter la version de l’éditeur, utilisez le lien DOI ci-dessous.
https://doi.org/10.4224/20359110
Access and use of this website and the material on it are subject to the Terms and Conditions set forth at
International Building Congress, Cambridge, England, September 1962
Legget, R. F.
https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/droits
L’accès à ce site Web et l’utilisation de son contenu sont assujettis aux conditions présentées dans le site LISEZ CES CONDITIONS ATTENTIVEMENT AVANT D’UTILISER CE SITE WEB.
NRC Publications Record / Notice d'Archives des publications de CNRC:
https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=c9df7eb3-d9c1-4f67-acac-b04a96c4c18e https://publications-cnrc.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=c9df7eb3-d9c1-4f67-acac-b04a96c4c18e
DIVISION OF BUILDING RESEARCH
ｔｅｃｬｈｉｎ｝｛ｃａｾ
NOTE
384
PREPARED BY R. F. Legget CHECKED BY
Director. DBR/NRC
APPROVED By
DATE November 1962
PREPARED ,.OR General distribution
SUBJECT INT ERNAT IONAL BUILDING CONGRESS. CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND,
SEPTEMBER 1962
The vast scale of current construction in the U. S. S. R. , especially with precast concrete units. was the highlight of information presented to an international building congress held in Cambridge.
England. for six days in early September. Attended by 350 engineers,
architects, contractors and buHding research workers from 35
countries (on both sides of the iron curtain), the Congress was notable for the complete freedom that characterized all discussions, and for
the truly international character of the contributions. Papers were
presented from all five continents. the four opening papers ｢･ｌｾｳ regional
reviews of trends in building from Eastern and Western Europe. North America and Asia respectively.
"Innovation in Building" was the theme of the Congress and is the title of the 232 page book which contains the full texts of the 24 papers
presented to the meeting*. The Congress was the second to be organized
by C.1. B., (the International Council for Building Research, Studies and
Documentation) the initials deriving from the French title "Conseil
International du Ba.timent." The success of the Cambridge meeting seems to assure the continuation of these international forums on new developments
in building. the first of which was held in Rotterdam in 1959. Future
Congres ses will be held at 3 -year intervals.
:-:' "Innovation in Building," American Elsevier Publishing Co. Inc.,
2
-Dr. F. M. Lea, President of C. 1. B., and Director of the
British Building Research Station, opened the Congress with a notable paper in which he outlined the challenges being faced by the building
industries of all countries; showed how building research was contributing to improvements in the efficiency of building (one example given being that Great Britain now produces two schools for the price of one school ten years ago); and then discussed the difficult problem of assessing innovations in building in such a way that they can be brought into use,
if satisfactory, with a minimum of delay.
The development of adequate acceptance tests for this purpose was a recurring theme in discussion, the usefulness of A. S. T. M. test
methods in the international field being mentioned. It became evident
that France appears to have progressed further in this matter than
most other countries. Details of the "Service de 1'Agrement" operated
by the French government's building research organization (widely
known as C. S. T. B. ) were given in a paper by P. Roger of Paris, the head
of this service. New products and methods of construction are tested
by C. S. T. B., and if approved are given a label of acceptance but
this is valid for three years only, after which a renewal application must
be made. Use of the label, by building owners, engineers and architects,
is voluntary but the system is working so successfully that it is widely
used throughout France. Similar systems are in use in a number of
European countries that have formed "1'Union Europeenne pour l'Agrement Technique dans la Construction" which has had its first meeting in Madrid
in 1960. A modified system in use by Canada's Central Mortgage and
Housing Corporation was also described to the meeting.
Professor V. 1. Ovsyankin, Vice President of the U. S. S. R.
Academy of Building and Architecture, presented the first of the five
papers contributed from "iron-curtain" countries. This paper and the
several Soviet contributions to the discussion showed that there was no "curtain" impeding the flow of information at the meeting, specific figures for many aspects of Soviet building being presented, many of them in terms of man-hours, thus permitting direct comparison with practice
in other countries. Professor Ovsyankin stated, for example, that cement
production in the countries of Eastern Europe had increased from 18.58 million tons in 1950 to 63.38 million tons in 1960, an increase of 368 per
cent. Ouality had also improved and the range of types of cement had been
extended, all recognized types now being produced whereas in 1925
portland cement was the only kind made in the entire U. S. S. R. The use of
lightweight aggregate is advancing rapidly. A new type of structural steel
of other building materials is the increase in the volume of "chipboards" produced from 156,000 m 3 in 1950 to the 3,500,000 m 3 planned for
1965 and already in definite prospect.
That the Soviet claim to the position of world leader in the use of precast concrete is no idle boast was well shown by production figures presented and by pictur es shown of lar ge 4-storey buildings completed in a few days by the assembly of fully precast and
pre-fabricated reinforced concrete apartment units. Each apartment is
delivered to the building site on a large trailer and erected in position by means of a "goliath" travelling gantry crane, similar to that used
in the construction of British atomic power stations. Professor Ovsyankin
said that "In Soviet housing construction precast concrete has completely replaced wood and in situ concrete in floors and staircases and is (now)
successfully replacing rubble and rubble concrete foundations." In 1947,
the size of the large precast panels then in use averaged 4 to 4. 5 m 2 . Today it is common Soviet practice to precast floor units with areas
of 16 to 18 m 2 and wall units (panels) with areas of 12 to 13 m 2 .
In an analysis of the way in which more and more Soviet construction work is being diverted to the factory, Professor Ovsyankin gave figures to show that the man-days required per square metre of useful living space in multi-storey dwelling units was
O. 6 in the factory and 3.2 on the site,
for brick load -bearing wall construction;
and 1. 1 in the factory and 1. 9 on the site,
for precast concrete construction,
with totals of 3.8 and 3.0 man-days respectively. Corresponding figures
for Poland, in man..,hours, were 45 to 50 pre-war, 67 to 70 in 1950, and
30 to 35 today, all per square metre of useful living space. Other Polish
figures were equally impressive, such as an increase in the production of synthetic floor coverings from 34, 000 m 2 in 1956 to 799, 800 m 2 in 1960. On the other hand, 59 per cent of all Polish house building is still carried out by traditional methods although of the remaining 41 per cent, 34 per cent is now done using large precast concrete units, and this percentage is
steadily increasing.
Over -all figures for Soviet reinforced concrete production were given by Mr. K. N. Kartashov who is the Director of the Central Research Institute for Industrial Buildings and Structures in the Academy of
4
-to 43,500,000 m3. By 1960, the volume had increased to 57,000,000 m 3
and it is planned that by 1965 the volume will be 88 700 000 m 3 of which 58,000,000 m 3 (or 67 per cent) will be factory produced as large precast
units. Soviet engineers estimate that the saving of steel, as compared
with the more usual structural steel designs for industrial buildings and structures, can be expressed as a factor of from 2 to 3.5.
Naturally the use of large precast concrete units necessitates much standardization in design but the pleasing aesthetic effects possible even with standard designs was evident from many of the photographs
shown to the meeting. Especially notable were some large multi-storey
housing units in Yugoslavia shown by J. Vukov, Head of the Housing Division
of the Centre for the Improvement of Building in Belgrade. The use of
modular coordination (based on a lO-cm. or 4-inch module) is almost
essential for precast concrete construction. Frequent references to the
use of modular design in many European countries showed how advanced they are, especially Sweden, in this aspect of modern building.
The use of plastics for permanent use in building was perhaps
the most unusual innovation to be mentioned at the Congress. The
possibilities for the saving of weight presented by the use of plastics were naturally stressed but, with one exception, any large applications
are still in the experimental stage. Complete experimental buildings
constructed generally of plastics were reported from the U. S. S. R. ,
and from Czechoslovakia. In the latter country fully prefabricated
bathroom units are now being produced, made almost completely of
plastics. One hundred and thirty thousand units have already been made;
drawings and photographs showed an attractive and serviceable design.
In contrast with the descriptions of innovations produced by state building or ganizations was a paper by Dr. C. F. Ras sweiler, of the Johns Manville Corporation, U. S. A., in which the approach of private
industry to innovation in building was lucidly outlined. Dr. Ras sweiler
pointed out the difference between the construction industry and lar ge
manufacturing industries. While admitting that the construction industry
is in some ways unique, he suggested that unless the industry (certainly in North America) adapted itself to the changed conditions of today, possibly by the development of larger and more comprehensive building organizations, some degree of reorganization might be imposed upon the
industry from without. Dr. Rassweiler, in speaking at the Congress,
outlined the studies of the building industry in the United States that have been made by the President's special committee of inquiry into science and technology, admitting that some types of building research must be carried out by public agencies, such as the federal government, but
stating the challenge that lies ahead of private industry to be more active in the building research field. The paper developed some pointed
discussion, but the friendly atmosphere of the Congress was pleasantly reflected by the fact that Dr. Rassweiler replied not only to the discussion of his own paper but also to the companion paper of Professor Kaczorowski of Poland, at the latter's request.
Almost at the other extreme to reports of the vast building industries of North America was a brief report on recent progress in Israel, presented by Professor Mrs. Rahel Shalon, Director of Building Research for Israel. Construction in this newly organized country now uses 10 per cent of the total labour force. The value of the construction of new dwellings alone amounts to 10 per cent of the national income, or one third of all capital investment, 236,000 dwellings having already been constructed with 60,000 under construction in 1962. Great progress was reported from South Africa by Dr T. L. Webb, Director of Building Research, in the provision of good low-cost housing for workers, research having
reduced total costs to a fraction of pre -war costs and improved the quality of housing considerably. From Australia came a report (by Dr. M. J. Ridge) on the significant use of fibrous plaster in very large
(wall size) sheets, factory made and delivered on the job ready for erection in place. From Norway came an account of new window test methods,
and procedures followed to eliminate rain penetration through curtain walls. Of unusual inter est wer e paper s by two trade union officials,
Mr. H. T. O. Weaver, National Secretary of the British Building Trade Unions and Dr. H. Umrath of the Netherlands who is also Secretary of the International Federation of Building and Woodworkers. Both men presented constructive papers, Mr. Weaver stressing the fact that the workers in the building industry (of Great Britain) recognized the necessity and inevitability of innovation in their industry but did ask that they might be consulted before innovations were introduced. Mr. Weaver's own
personal assistance with some building research projects was acknowledged appreciatively in the discussion by Dr. T. W. Parker, Deputy Director of the British Building Research Station.
Paper s at the concluding ses sion dealt with the most difficult
matter of providing in useful form, and putting to use, information about new developments in building. Dr. J. van Ettinger, Director of the justly
famous Bouwcentrum in Rotterdam, Holland, submitted a plea for a world-wide chain of building information centres linked together by the best
modern means of communication. In his absence, his appeal was presented to the Congress by J. M. Giertz of Sweden who is now working in Ethiopia and who explained from his own experience how vitally such information is
6
-needed by newly developing countries. It was agreed that the main problem
is knowing where to go for information when it is needed. This is one of
the tasks to the development of which C. 1. B. is dedicated and the personal
exchanges that the Congress facilitated, on a world-wide scale, constituted a firm step in this direction.
