Transparent Concrete's Future in America Unclear

Italian company Essroc Italcementi Group unveiled their trademarked i.light concrete in 2010 at the Shanghai World Expo, using the panels to build the Italian Pavilion (pictured). The transparent effect is most evident when seen from the outside at night.

Translucent concrete panels, a singularly futuristic building material, still have not found a permanent home in North America in the three years since their worldwide debut.

"The concrete is a proprietary product that uses a special mix of cement and chemicals that hold the resins together," said Christopher Eagon, the Ohio-based marketing manager for Essroc Italcementi's North American offices.

After two years of development and a worldwide unveiling at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, the European-made transparent panels made their North American debut in October 2011 at the Greenbuild show in Toronto. Since then, no requests have been made for the material in North America – so far.

While the new material has the same strength and crack-resistant abilities as standard concrete, the polymer-based resins allow light to be transmitted through it, Eagon said.

The resins are treated to protect against ultraviolet rays, so the transparency of the material will not change over time; the resins' color can be changed, as can the shape and panel dimensions. During the day, exterior light filters in, providing potential energy savings from reduced energy use.

In Shanghai, the panels covered about 40 percent of the pavilion, using almost 3,800 transparent panels made from 189 tons of transparent concrete.

The cost to produce the material in North America has yet to be finalized, but estimates place the price at roughly $2,700 per square meter. The concrete panels, which transmit both natural and artificial light, are guaranteed to last as long as a panel made from traditional concrete, and can be poured straight into forms at the building site.

Essroc Italcementi is looking for North American partners to produce the patented product. i.light was picked as one of Popular Science's "100 Best Innovations of 2010."