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CEMEX in France provides tailor-made solutions for two schools’ construction challenges

Date published: October 31, 2011

CEMEX in France recently ensured visual continuity for the highway around the Marcel-Sembat High School in Normandy, matching the new pavement’s surface with the adjacent road laid in 1992. On the French Riviera, CEMEX in France undertook an innovative, new lightweight slab construction process, which, together with the company’s special concretes, fulfilled both the technical requirements and the aesthetic quality desired for the new Villefranche-sur-Mer Preschool.

CEMEX in France gives solutions to build 2 schools

Marcel-Sembat
The older adjoining highway’s surface around the high school was made of deactivated concrete; concrete in which the aggregate in the concrete is visible on the smooth floor. The challenge was to match the appearance and color of this pavement, which had experienced almost two decades of weathering. After careful examination, the new fire service road, sidewalks, and forecourt—with a total surface area of 2,300 square meters—were carefully poured, applying a dose of deactivator to ensure that the appropriate aggregates were exposed without loosening them. As a final step, to obtain the desired weathered light tone, CEMEX used a low dose of yellow pigment in the concrete.

Villefranche-sur-Mer
At the preschool, the architects wanted to increase the flexible use of the building by limiting the restrictions created by the presence of supports, so they required lightweight slabs to allow for spans of up to 17 meters. To this end, CEMEX in France partnered in the first trial project using the innovative Swiss Cobiax slab construction process. Through the Cobiax process, the company created 2,000 square meters of lightweight slabs through the insertion of hollow spheres made from recycled plastic set in place inside the concrete. In addition, to reduce sound transmission in the preschool,

concrete sound traps in the shape of egg boxes were affixed to the underside of almost 1,000 square meters of the lightweight slabs. A final layer of special concrete was applied wet to complete the soundproofing. Furthermore, to sustain the high aesthetic quality of the visible sections of the building—its girders, stairways, and sloped and sheer walls—special architectural concrete was used to achieve the desired smooth surface and light, uniform color.

Thus, facing two separate, challenging projects, CEMEX know-how provided quality where it counts: fashioning structures representing the successful harmonization of technique and appearance.