The Concrete Society of Southern Africa is calling for nominations for its biennial Fulton Awards, which recognises and honours excellence and innovation in the design and use of concrete.

The awards continue to celebrate the legacy of scientific and technological advances in concrete within the built environment, as well as Dr Sandy Fulton’s life and achievements in the industry.

The 2017 awards take on a new look with brand-new categories and a new approach to judging. Cement producer PPC is, again, the anchor sponsor of the awards.

Concrete Society CEO and director John Sheath says that, after more than 30 years of the awards’ existence, some “serious updating” was required in terms of both the criteria for adjudication of the entries and the entry categories themselves, many of which had been in existence for the lifetime of the awards.

“We had drifted away from identifying all that was special and exceptional in the concrete,” he says.

The criteria used by the judges will include the quality of the concrete (focusing on finish), sustainability (green building initiatives), inventiveness and innovation in the application of concrete technology, innovation in concrete construction methods, geotechnical use of concrete, aesthetic impact, the rationale behind the chosen concrete finish, workmanship and the effect of the concrete on the architectural landscape and environment.

Further, some unique criteria will apply to the Innovation in Concrete category. These include the significance of the use/application of the innovation, industry relevance of the innovation, addressing of sustainability issues and its ability to make concrete more competitive, thereby growing the market.

The new categories for 2017 are Buildings up to three storeys, Buildings more than three storeys, Flatwork, Infrastructure, Innovation in Concrete, Architectural Concrete and Mining.

The procedure for nominations has also changed. Nominations can be made online through the Concrete Society of Southern Africa’s website and will require a short motivation why it is felt that the nomination is worthy of an award. The judges will assess these nominations and a shortlist of entries will be drawn up for subsequent adjudication on site.

The deadline for nominations is August 31, 2016, while the completed entry packs have to be submitted before the end of November, 2016.