Summary
A new laboratory for research on the engineering properties of concrete and its constituent materials has been erected for the Cement and Concrete Association at its research station at Wexham Springs to re-house various departments which had been operating in temporary accommodation. The paper describes the measures taken to deal with problems applicable to all buildings of this type.
Air-conditioning of many of the rooms influenced the siting, planning and method of construction of the building. Particular problems included reducing nuisance from the dust and noise of many operations, preventing the spreading of shock and vibration to the rest of the structure, planning a convenient flow pattern for routine operations while allowing adequate versatility for other techniques, and filtering “live” cement from liquid waste. Although all the desirable refinements were not included at the time of erection, provision was made, where possible, for them to be incorporated later.
