We are delighted to announce that the Irish Concrete Society 40^th Awards Evening and Annual Dinner will be held on Saturday, 25th of March in the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin 4.

The black-tie evening will commence with a drinks reception and exhibition of entries at 7.30pm, followed by dinner at 8.30pm. During the evening the Main Category Awards will be presented, together with the Sean de Courcy Student Award, the Sculpture Award, and the 10^th International Award.

With more than 300 guests expected to attend, it promises to be a most enjoyable social event especially as this year marks both our 40^th Annual Awards and the 50^th Anniversary of the Society.

For further information on purchasing tickets and sponsorship packages, please contact office@concrete.ie

The negative effects of placing concrete in cold weather are well established. Concrete can be damaged to such an extent that it is unfit for use, has lower strength development or reduced durability. Therefore, it is important that precautions are taken to ensure that the performance of the Concrete is not unduly affected.

In this seminar we will deal with the practical aspects of successfully placing concrete during cold weather. We will also look at the damage caused by freezing temperatures to fresh concrete.

Fee:  ICS / Concrete Society NI Region Member: €65, Non-member: €95

Programme: 

• 10.00 Welcome
• 10.05 Introduction and General Overview | Robert Laird, ESB
• 10.35 Design Options for Cold Weather Concreting | Vincent Anderson, MTS Ltd.
• 11.05 Site Practice: Planning Placing, and Curing | Oisín Ó Maoláin, John Sisk & Son
• 11.45 Break
• 11.55 Sampling and Testing | Gordon Ellis, Mattest
• 12.15 Health and Safety Considerations in Cold Weather | Shane McDonnell, PJ Hegarty & Sons
• 12.45 Q&A
• 13.00 Ends

To book, email events@concrete.ie 

Venue: Online Event

Screeds can often be viewed as non-structural, straightforward elements which do not require consideration, leading to avoidable problems.

There are a variety of screed materials now available that require very specific types of installation. A lack of knowledge by professionals can lead to issues such as: screeds being specified that are not adequate for the intended use, inappropriate or inadequate installation, or systems that cannot be installed in the required time.

Delivered by experienced industry professionals, this seminar provides guidance on important design and specification considerations, in addition to installation best practice, and finishes.

This seminar is an essential update for all those who design, specify, install or supply quality floors in Ireland.

Fee:  ICS Member: €60, Non-member: €90

Programme: 

10.00    Welcome and Introduction

10.05    Specifications and Codes of Practice |Thomas Holden, Roadstone

10.45    Screed Types and Application | Padraic McGrath, McGraths Cong

11.20 Break

11.30 Installation | Paul Cahalan, Premier Floor Screeds

12.00 Follow-on Products and Finishes | Paul Cronin, Ardex

12.45 Q&A

13.00 Ends

To book, email events@concrete.ie 

We are delighted to announce the return of the annual meeting of members and their partners with our colleagues in the Northern Ireland Region of The Concrete Society.

Hosted by the Irish Concrete Society, the event will be based at the Ferrycarrig Hotel, and include a technical visit to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge, the world’s longest post-tensioned, all concrete extradosed spans.

For further information and registration details are available here

Please note, this event is open to Irish Concrete Society and Concrete Society Northern Ireland Region members only.

Starting 14th September 2022

Covering essential information, this three half-day hybrid course suitable for all those involved in the production, design, and supervision of concrete will cover essential information to enable better understanding and knowledge of  the most used construction material in the world.

Laboratory Session: 14th September 2022, 10am to 6pm*, TCD Lab

*90 min group sessions with staggered starts and finishes

Lecture Session 1: 15th September 2022, 10am to 1pm, Online

1. Concrete Constituents
2. Concrete Mix Design
3. Specifying, Ordering, Delivery and Acceptance
4. Fresh Concrete Properties

Lecture Session 2: 21st September 2022, 10am to 1pm, Online

1. Formwork, Pre-pour Checks, and Placing
2. Compaction and Finishing
3. Curing and Strength Gain
4. Concrete Defects
5. Testing Hardened Concrete

Email: events@concrete.ie to book

Concrete provides long-term durable, efficient and resilient structures.  Yet, the benefits to wider sustainability provided by concrete construction must be balanced against the necessity to reduce associated environmental impacts. This requires consideration of how concrete can be used in sustainable design, starting with initial discussions with clients, through to methods of specification and choice of materials.

This seminar will provide engineers with practical information and guidance on applying sustainability practices in designing concrete structures.  Our industry professional and expert speakers will cover important details from client brief, designing for whole of life, to improving the efficiency of the structure.

Who Should Attend

This seminar will be of particular interest to Design and Consulting Engineers involved in the design, specification, and supervision of construction. Site Engineers, Main Contractors, Ready-mixed and Precast Concrete Producers will also benefit from attending.

Programme

• Introduction and Keynote | Andrew Minson, Global Cement and Concrete Association  
• Client Brief | Conor Hayes, Arup
• Efficient Design for Low Carbon Concrete | Jenny Burridge, The Concrete Centre
• Circular Economy | Janet Lynch, Arup
• Education | Roger West, Trinity College Dublin
• Specifying Low Carbon Concrete | Jenny Burridge, The Concrete Centre
• Cements and Additions | Aidan Fogarty, Ecocem & Brian Gilmore, Cement Manufacturers Ireland
• Concrete Optimisation | Pawel Pyszka, Kilsaran
• High Performance Concretes | William Wilson, Roadstone
• Design – Off Site Construction | John Kenna, Banagher Precast Concrete
• Summary | Robert Laird, ESB 

Building a Concrete Future Information

To book, please see here

The winners of the 39th Annual Awards were announced at the Annual Awards and Dinner Evening held in the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road, Dublin on  26th March 2022.

Elemental and Overall Winner: Skate Bowl and Plaza at Le Fanu, Ballyfermot

Infrastructural Winner: Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge

Building: UCC Student Hub

9th International Award: Paul Marshall Building, London School of Economics

Sean De Courcy Student Prize: Aaron Lowe, Dublin Technological University

The full list of winning project teams can be viewed here 

Event

The evening will commence with a drinks reception and exhibition of entries at 7.30pm, followed by dinner at 8.30pm. During the evening the main category award winners will be announced and presented, along with the winner of the Sean de Courcy Student Award and the winner of the 9th International Award.

Tickets

eTickets have been issued to the table host organisation and to individuals that registered to attend the evening.

Dress Code

This event is semi-formal / cocktail.

Dietary Requirements

A vegan/vegetarian option will be available, please inform waiting staff at your table. If you or your guests have other special dietary requirements, please email us at office@concrete.ie.

Pre Order Wine

Wine can be ordered in advance or on the evening itself. Please email us at office@concrete.ie for a wine order form and wine list.

Location and Parking

The hotel is located at Eircode D04 A318. On-site paid parking is available at the hotel. There are no electric vehicle charging points at the hotel, however, there are charging points within short walking distance. Further information on location, parking and transport options is available at:  https://www.claytonhotelburlingtonroad.com/location/.

Nominated Charity

This year’s nominated charity is the Irish Hospice Foundation. Collections envelopes will be available on tables and representatives from the charity will be in attendance on the evening should you, or your guests, wish to make a direct donation.

We look forward to welcoming you on the evening.

Date: Postponed | Venue: Online Event

While many factors can disrupt construction schedules, few are more frustrating than questions concerning in-situ concrete quality. In many cases unnecessary delay and cost is caused by poor site testing practices rather than substandard construction.

In this seminar, we will discuss quality testing that occurs before a product arrives onsite and provide guidance on correct methods of sampling and testing concrete placed on site. Delivered by highly experienced industry professionals, the differences between quality requirements placed on producers and those on site will be explained. In addition, the seminar will advise how results should be interpreted, and the consequences to both producers and contractors of poor practices.

This seminar is an indispensable update for Design Engineers, Site Engineers, those in a supervisory roles and all interested in the efficient delivery of quality concrete structures.

Fee:  ICS Member: €60, Non-member: €90

Programme: 

09.30      Welcome and Introduction

09.35      Conformity and Certification | Fergal O’Byrne, Fergal O’Byrne Solutions

10.15      Production Control and Identity Testing | Tom Burke, Roadstone

10.45      Sampling and Main On- Site Tests | Victor O’Shea, Sisk

11.15 Break

11.25 Other On-Site Testing | Barry Gilroy, Mattest

11.45 Mistakes and Consequences | Keith Goodwin, Kilsaran

12.15 Specifying Test Rates and Interpretation of Results | Michael Conroy, Roughan & O’Donovan

12.45 Q&A

13.00 Ends

To book, email events@concrete.ie 

Further information available here

An Advanced Concrete Technology lecture will take place online at 1pm on 22nd February 2022. This free event is jointly organised by the Irish Concrete Society and the Institute of Concrete Technology.

Delivered by Paul O’Hanlon of the Holcim Innovation Center, France, this lecture will provide an insight into new digital technologies that are helping to unlock new ways of using concrete, with greater efficiency and cost effectiveness.

Who should attend

This lecture will be of interest to all those who are involved in the design, specification, production and construction of concrete. Those who should attend include design engineers, consulting engineers, concrete technologists, concrete producers, and engineers in contracting and sub-contracting firms.

Further information on this lecture is available here