SWEDISH architect Morten Johanson of Áron Losonczi’s light-transmitting concrete or Litracon™ stated: ‘The combination ofnormally opposing features – heaviness/solidity and transparency in one and the same building material creates the possibility of a new architecture never seen before’. This invention has won the ‘Red Dot: Best of the Best’ award in 2005 and the Leaf Award in 2006 and is nominated for the Designpreis Award of 2006.

Litracon™ (or light-transmitting concrete) consists of a new transparent material besides traditional concrete which can transmit light, but this new material remains concrete in its general impression and appearance. It is a new widely applicable building material and is a mixture of optical glass fibres and fine concrete which can be used as prefabricated blocks or panels. Thousands of optical glass fibres form a matrix and run parallel to each other between the two main surfaces of every block. The proportion of the fibres (at 4%) is small compared to the total volume. These fibres mingle in the concrete due to their small size and become a structural component as a kind of modest aggregate. Therefore, the surface of the blocks still appears to be of homogeneous concrete.

The glass fibres lead light by points between the two sides. Because of their parallel positioning, the light-information on the brighter side of such a wall appears unchanged on the darker side. Probably, the most interesting form of this phenomenon is the sharp display of shadows on the opposing side of the wall. Moreover, the colour of the light remains the same.

In theory, a wall structure built using light-transmitting concrete can be a couple of metres thick as the fibres work almost without any loss in light up to 20 metres. Load-bearing structures can also be built using the blocks since glass fibres do not have a negative effect on the well-known high compressive strength value of concrete. In addition, the blocks can be produced in various sizes and with embedded heat-isolation.

If the Litracon™ wall structure needs reinforcement, the following solution can be applied because there are grooves in Litracon™ blocks. While building the walls, reinforcement can be placed in these grooves (horizontally or vertically). The optical fibres remain invisible because they are flexible and ‘go around’ the steel rods. This has been applied successfully in the Europe Gate in Hungary and other installations in exhibitions. Litracon™ is available in varying colours (e.g. white, grey, black) and various textures.

LAUNCHED in 2005, AVANCRETE™ by Lafarge Malayan Cement Berhad (LMCB) is easy to mix, to work with and sets quickly. A 40kg bag can produce the same quantity of cement as a 50kg bag of ordinary cement, thus justifying the 20% premium over competing products.

Seen as one of the most advanced cement available today, AVANCRETE™ is the result of one-year’s worth of customer research and marketing efforts by the Malaysian company. The new cement has been proven to improve productivity while utilising less manpower and shorter working time for users.

Lafarge’s Asia Technical Centre in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia assisted in the development of AVANCRETE™ to meet customers’ stringent requirements. The brand name “AVANCRETE”™ is a portmanteau word combining the words “avance” (advance) and “concrete” translating literally as “advanced cement”.

Incorporated in 1950, Lafarge Malayan Cement Berhad (LMCB) built its first cement plant in 1953. Its core business revolves around the manufacturing and sale of cement, ready-mix concrete and other related building materials. The company currently employs 2,000 people and operates a nationwide network of facilities, which includes three integrated cement plants in Langkawi, Kanthan and Rawang, a grinding plant in Pasir Gudang and distribution channels by road, rail and sea.