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By Sara Hart

The Seonyu footbridge, completed in 2002, links the main town of Seoul, Korea, to Sunyudo Island in the Han River. It was jointly conceived by the City of Seoul and “France’s Year 2000 Committee” to transform the island into an urban park and to symbolize the friendship between South Korea and France. The arch-shaped structure, designed by Rudy Ricciotti, is the world’s first bridge to be constructed entirely of Ductal. Built by VSL-Intrafor, Bouygues Construction subsidiary, its profile, in context, is paper thin. The deck is only slightly thicker than 1 inch, and the pi-shaped arch is only 4 feet deep. Ricciotti was able to achieve this with Ductal because it requires only about half the amount of material than traditional concrete.

 

The Vail-Grant house clings to a steep hillside in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Designed by Pugh + Scarpa, it is constructed in part with Structural Concrete Insulating Panels (SCIPs), engineered by Green Sandwich Technologies. This particular panel system was specified for its energy efficiency, speed and ease of field assembly, strength, and impact-resistance. Images: Courtesy Pugh + Scarpa