Imagination Unlimited

[Music] you might call these concrete abstractions man the Builder takes a dream and sets it in concrete versatile concrete masonry with its vast variety of shapes sizes colors and textures here then is creativity captured in concrete there is imagination unlimited mortar held the Tower of Babel together cement bricks were laid in walls while man was learning to write poured concrete lying canals in ancient Assyria but concrete block waited for the technological advances ushering in the 20th century many concrete masonry buildings still stand today after 50 60 70 years this is hardly surprising strength and durability are inherent characteristics of all well made concrete block take this distinctive residence in the great lakes country it has whether it's Sun wind rain freezin for four decades and has hardly aged in those early days relatively few buildings were made of exposed concrete masonry but an architectural awakening was underway prodded by advancing technology an awakening that is blossomed into the great architectural breakthrough of today a sudden surge forward in the bold imaginative use of new and traditional building materials such as wood glass plastics metal and concrete for both contemporary and traditional structures the architect strove for honest design to meet the needs physical and emotional of living people if his early attempts were a bit severe is now slipping out of my hand cuffs of disciplined functionalism and is striking out with complete freedom of expression freedom of planning and design freedom of form and structure and freedom to integrate the building with the site to help achieve these ends he learned to use his materials economically and expressively capitalizing upon their natural qualities in the forefront helping to explore these new freedoms stands concrete masonry now emerging from its primary use as a concealed building material into a new role as an exciting exposed material its own right concrete masonry for both structural and decorative use exterior or interior rich lasting honest beauty versatile expressive adaptable bring the imagination of architects or designers [Music] you concrete masonry helping to explore our architectural frontiers take any one style of architectural blood it can be stacked this way [Music] all that used alone [Music] or in stimulating new combinations here is another highly adaptable style split block coming more and more into its own as a distinctive exterior and interior material are some units are designed expressly for exterior use this is monumental building block for monumental architecture civic buildings churches schools commercial and industrial buildings designed to last like the pyramids as with all quality exterior block it's of a size shape and density to ensure watertight walls requiring neither waterproofing nor painting lightweight flock like this are intended primarily for interior use especially for exposed walls and churches schools hotels motels and public buildings thousands of little air cells give it excellent insulating properties and the poorest textured surface absorbs excessive noise these are just a few of the many kinds of exterior and interior block meant to be seen in today's buildings possibilities for the future unlimited as long as the block makers can keep pace with a growing demand for quantity quality and variety concrete block is a building material for any use where warmth and acoustics are important where durability low maintenance and security from the elements are important it's a building material for any architectural style warm in the winter cool in the summer true livability ideal for any climate mild arid tropical or one of seasonal extremes concrete block is the climate equalizer ideal for any sitting the weekend cabin in the woods calls for building economy minimum upkeep and resistance to fire concrete masonry meets these needs where other materials fail some of these are inherent qualities resistance to water fire rot and termites for instance others insulating an acoustical properties are manufactured in but such a wide range of benefits unmatched by any other building material represents a mid-century miracle of Technology it has been said that a modern concrete masonry block is as good as the material from which it is made the knowledge of a block maker his desire to produce high quality and the equipment he uses in the early days two men could make about 300 units in a 10-hour day on old-fashioned hand tap molds but fifty years have brought us to the push-button error today one fully automatic Viper pack operating around the clock can turn out well over 20,000 high quality concrete block 8 by 8 by 16 equivalent and block made on it are is different from the early product as a modern jet airliner is from the Wright brothers plane and if the block making machine is the heart of a complex manufacturing process the electronic automation master control panel is the brain it operates and monitors the fiber pack where blocks are molded under 2,000 pounds of pressure the old tapping method has given way to a unique vibration principle feed height and density controls are also automatic to ensure uniform quality the master control also operates the automatic block loader and unloader which performs a number of operations previously done by hand in today's most up-to-date plants every step is automatic in fact the first hands to touch the block are usually the skilled hands of a mason on the building site he finds block easy handling fast laying up this plus low initial cost means building economy further economy in appearance result from uniform quality straight edges uniform length height and width accurate modular dimensions these in the wide range of other benefits offered only by concrete block result primarily from modern manufacturing approaches featuring up-to-date precision machines what to delve a bit deeper it takes precision machines to make precision machines machines and men craftsmen like this and processes he treating for case depth and hardens for instance plus one hundred percent quality inspection and testing backed by continuous research and development to turn the finest alloy steel into the finest concrete block making equipment to keep the machines running at full capacity in the block making plans the leading manufacturer of block making machines maintains expert field service engineers on around the clock around the world duty at the whole plant a special school is conducted for block makers and block users its purpose to teach men how to operate and maintain the equipment to turn out top quality block special business management seminars are also offered in a fully equipped Technical Center experts run constant laboratory tests on the end product to ensure quality as well as investigate problems concerning processing mixing and mold vibration new ideas products and processes get careful scrutiny to another service is a plant layout department offering block makers complete plant engineering Council to increase plant efficiency and production still another service is acquainting architects and builders with the advantages nature and possibilities of the material and from one modern machine with a single set of plain pallets comes a seemingly endless line up of block all the shapes and sizes densities textures colors and physical compositions to what the architectural appetite of a modern-day world man designs his fillings for himself they must be strong durable and livable concrete masonry looks strong and it is it looks durable and it is it looks livable and it is concrete masonry buildings offer people admirably suited for all of man's day by day activities here are just a few examples of the vast number of applications of this most adaptable material you you you you you concrete masonry barely half a century old and already spearheading the drive to build and rebuild today's world and one of tomorrow's world man is building his tomorrow today he is building it with vigorous expression is Billy it with dramatic contrast he is Billy it with the limitless quantities of concrete block concrete block of quality despite the spectacular applications today the range of stimulating possibilities for tomorrow is beyond our power to visualize only one thing is certain with the versatility of concrete masonry man will build his tomorrow with imagination unlimited [Music] [Applause] you [Applause] you