LIVING SEWALLS HOW THEY’RE BRINGING SEA LIFE BACK INTO BUSY URBAN AREAS WITH THE HELP OF SOME SLAG. It's not every day you stumble across a project that uses concrete panels to encourage sea life back into urbanised harbours... Yes, that's right, concrete. It seems that in recent years, concrete has been given a spotlight in the media that not been very positive whatsoever. As the world's most used material second to water, the manufacture of concrete, in particular cement, results in large amounts of carbon dioxide being emitted. Many ENGO’s across the world label concrete as ‘climate’ a problem. But what if it's the solution? The Australasian (iron & steel) Slag Association mission is to expand the effective and beneficial use of iron and steel slags. Various forms of Slag can be used to manufacture concrete to reduce the amount of cement and natural aggregates in the mixture (which is better for the environment). Technically, its’ common knowledge that including slag in concretes increases workability, durability, and water tightness, providing benefits to all those who choose to utilise this SCM.
The team at Living Seawalls recognise the opportunity to utilise these resources to make an environmental impact. Back in November, the Australasian (iron & steel) Slag Association had the chance to sit down with Aria Lee (Research Assistant) and Alex Goad (Director and Industrial Designer) from Living Seawalls to learn more about this project. At Living Seawalls, it is clear the team is trying to change the way we think about building in the ocean. Specifically, instead of building structures that are damaging sea life- what if we could give back to life under the sea? Living Seawalls has been operating for the past three years though is a product of over 20 years’ worth of scientific research. As a result of this research, the organisation identified a large problem and worked to find a solution.
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www.asa-inc.org.au
connections December 21 | 10
