30 Mar 2020
We are here
As we all adjust to the current situation and the changes to our workplaces and homes, we just wanted to let you know that we are still here. The Concrete Centre team is currently working remotely, as many of us do usually (albeit some of us now have a bit more company!). We have also made more resources available online, for example bringing forward the launch of our on-demand webinar service. So below is a quick update on the best ways to contact us, along with a few changes we have made to some projects and guidance on accessing our online resources.
Office closed - website is open!
The London and Leicester offices of the MPA, where The Concrete Centre is based, are now temporarily closed. The phones have been diverted, the post has not. So please call us and email us as normal.
You can also access information and contact us online at www.concretecentre.com and on our social media channels:
On-demand webinars
The Concrete Centre was planning to launch its new on-demand webinar service after Easter, however we have now brought this forward and there are five webinars available for you to access.
The first webinars are: Achieving cast in situ visual concrete; Concrete and fire; Energy-efficient design using concrete and masonry; How to specify concrete to BS 8500; and Planning a basement for housing.
You can also complete a short form online to let us know what other topics you would find useful for future webinars. We are aiming to add new webinars to this service on a regular basis.
Events programme
Our events programme has always included webinars and our scheduled webinars will continue as usual. With regard to our Low Carbon Concrete seminar in May, and the new Concrete Futures lecture in June, we are now looking to see how best to run these virtually. We will keep our events calendar up to date at www.concretecentre.com/events as well as looking to add more webinars to the calendar so that we can respond to your requests for information.
Bookshop
The majority of guidance in The Concrete Centre publications library - www.concretecentre.com/publications is already free of charge and can be freely downloaded. For any books that are chargeable, these can be ordered in soft copy only or, if you do require a hard copy, the team that despatch our books are currently still working and can send orders. However, as the postal service is under considerable pressure we cannot make any guarantees about delivery times and would encourage the use of soft copies where possible.
Technical helpline
The Concrete Centre offers a helpline for technical enquiries - this moved from a phone to an email service back in 2012. So if you have technical queries about the design and specification of concrete, please email us at helpline@concretecentre.com. The helpline team will then respond directly, or forward it on to the colleague with the expertise required to answer. Please include as much detail as possible in your email, including your name, company name and contact phone number.
Please be aware that The Concrete Centre is here to support the UK and we can only assist with designers and projects in the UK.
Student competition
The Concrete Centre’s Structural Concrete Competition 2020, which is open for all students in civil and structural engineering departments of UK universities is currently still planning to go ahead. We have extended the deadlines, so the deadline for final Entry Forms to be received is Friday 3 July 2020 and the revised deadline for the completed work to be submitted (by email) is Friday 31 July 2020.
We still aim to hold the Q&A webinar for the competition on 24th April 2020. This webinar is an opportunity for students to ask questions on the competition to better inform the final preparation of the submissions. Students can register for the Q&A session by emailing their question to info@concretecentre.com. Once received, the sender will then be sent a link to join the webinar. For more information email info@concretecentre.com.
Keep up to date
As we are all following guidance from Public Health England it is likely that the situation will continue to change. The Concrete Centre will continue to try and adapt, so that we can continue to support those designing and constructing in concrete and masonry. To stay up to date, please subscribe to our newsletter so that we can advise you as new resources become available, or our services change.
And stay safe, take care.
Claire Ackerman, Director, The Concrete Centre