Designer Omer Arbel's 8.0 Chair used Ductal to shatter any reconceived images of concrete furniture. "The concrete is very, very, very, very strong," Arbel says. "It allows me to create this incredibly thin cantilevering form."

Concrete Technology: Lafarge Ductal
Flexible concrete that is up to 10 times stronger than regular concrete mixtures? Ductal concrete is a high-performance construction material by Lafarge that may create new possibilities for the world of decorative concrete.
by Michael Chusid

Would you like to increase performance by 1,000 percent? Now you can, using a new type of concrete that is up to 10 times stronger than common concrete mixtures. This impressive feat can be accomplished with Ductal, a revolutionary, ultra-high-performance material that delivers up to 30,000 psi compressive strength and rivals the strength of metal.

While steel maintains a significant advantage in tensile and flexural strength, Ductal has reduced that gap as well. Normal concrete, for example, has almost no flexural strength, yet Ductal offers flexural strengths up to 6,000 psi. This is closely related to the material's amazing ability to bend (within limits) without breaking - a property called "ductility" and the inspiration for its name. Where ordinary concrete is brittle and shatters catastrophically when it fails, Ductal will stretch as it reaches its load limit, making structures more robust and providing extra margins of safety.

Clearly, this is exciting news for leading-edge structural engineers and architects who challenge themselves to "do more with less." It should be exciting news, too, for everyone interested in decorative concrete. That's because the performance of the new material demands a reassessment of the aesthetic and functional possibilities of concrete construction.

The material's strength enables it to be used in very thin sections. This, in turn, reduces the weight of a structure and allows the use of larger pieces with fewer joints. Ductal is extremely fluid and self-placing, allowing it to be cast into complex shapes. It produces surface textures and appearances unmatched by conventional concretes. And it is so durable that it can be used without fear of the elements for enduring structures and monuments.