Masonry Magazine July 1971 Page. 5
Penn Square Apartments in Denver
Penn Square Apartments in Denver consists of single wythe laid-in-place masonry for the curtain walls, with prefabricated balcony screens for the porch areas.
THE REVOLUTION IN MASONRY TODAY
By DALLAS GRENLEY
The thesis of this discussion is revolution; that a revolution is occurring in masonry today; that this industry will witness tremendous changes in the next decade; that old techniques will no longer remain competitive; that each mason contractor ought to take a considered look at this revolution and what it means to him.
Revolution. that's a strong word. but one of Webster's definitions is "sudden change," and events are occurring in the masonry industry today that can indeed be described as sudden change, for while this medium has served mankind for perhaps 8,000 years, it can measure its innovations in that period of time on the fingers of one hand: the development of the kiln, the use of hydraulic mortars, the invention of the arch, the discovery of portland cement -there really aren't many. Viewed in that perspective of time, but more important, viewed in the light of the new competitive advantage these events promise the mason contractor, it seems that revolution is not too strong a word.
For example, the last decade has seen a 14-story load bearing block building in a seismic area that was built at the rate of one floor per week. It has seen a 19-story apartment building with brick curtain walls four inches thick with no structural backup. Load bearing block buildings have been erected at the rate of 600 block per mason per day. Brick has moved back downtown with single wythe, brick column facades on an urban office building. Architectural concrete block is going in place at one-half the cost of pre-cast concrete, and a three-story brick building exists whose load bearing walls are only four inches thick. Concrete block walls are being prefabricated off the job site, and the last year has seen a 29-story building with structurally self-sufficient walls three inches thick that were built on the ground.
Two products make these innovations in masonry possible; SARABOND® and THREADLINE®. They are each about a dozen years old in their present form; their fore-runners go back another decade before that. There the similarity ends, and it is important to distinguish between them, for these products differ in:
(1) Physical form and method of use,
(2) The type of masonry for which they are suitable,
(3) The rationale for their use.
They do have one other point in common, and one of particular interest to the mason contractor: they deliver more building for less money, and it is on this criterion that all building systems must finally be judged, for to the eventual owner or occupant of the building it is immaterial
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