SCIENCE
Concrete's Comeback to the Jungle
Wednesday 18 October 2006 21:02-21:30 (Radio 4 FM)
After water, concrete is the most widely consumed substance on earth - more than 10 billion tons is produced annually. It is the ubiquitous stuff of pavements, roads, utilitarian structures such as power plants, houses, schools and garages and despite its negative press, new technologies are now enabling it to assume any colour, shape, texture or pattern. Concrete is going through an extraordinary revival, and is now the material of choice for architects, engineers and artists.
Quentin Cooper explores how developments in science and technology have turned this once despised material, into one of the most popular.
