Medical Building Curbs & Sidewalks
The healthcare sector has long been exploring ways to integrate sustainable practices into its operations and infrastructure. VNA Health Care is the largest Community Health Center in the Chicago suburbs and was looking to reduce the embodied carbon emissions for a new medical building in Joliet, Illinois. As a structure that would see heavy foot traffic and environmental exposure, the building needed the right design for their curbs and sidewalks. CarbonSenseยฎ 4000 PSI was the right solution to meet the specifications as well as the sustainability goals.
The Challenge
Traditional concrete is known for its high embodied carbon, primarily due to the portland cement used in its production. For this medical building, the challenge was two-fold:
Environmental Impact:
The medical facility aimed to reduce its carbon footprint but faced difficulties finding a concrete solution that aligned with its sustainability goals.
Performance Standards:
The selected concrete needed to meet criteria in terms of workability, finishability, and strength. The client was concerned that a reduction in portland cement might affect the concrete’s overall performance.
Implementation
Consultation:
Ozinga worked closely with all project stake holders to ensure proper application, pouring, and curing techniques.
Quality Assurance:
Regular testing and monitoring were conducted to confirm that the material met specified performance standards.
“There was no difference. In a good way. The concrete performed exactly the same and most of my crew didn’t even realize there was something unique about the material.” – Michael Gillian, Abbey Paving
Results
Even with a reduced amount of portland cement, the customer saw no differences in workability, finishability, or strength.
Ozinga CarbonSenseยฎ helped achieve a 38.4% reduction in embodied carbon emissions.
What is CarbonSenseยฎ?
- CarbonSenseยฎ is a line of more sustainable building materials developed by Ozinga including concrete, aggregates, and cement blends.
- CarbonSenseยฎ products have been specially designed and tested to reduce embodied carbon emissions in construction.
- All CarbonSenseยฎ products are developed and validated in Ozinga’s CCRL/ASTM-certified research and development lab in Chicago, IL.
- CarbonSenseยฎ concrete mix designs reduce embodied carbon by an average of 30-40%.