Concrete is a material that has stood the test of time - from the many impressive monuments built in Roman times that have survived the centuries through to today's remarkable evolution of concrete structures - and it almost certainly has a promising future ahead. Currently we are seeing an understanding of the influence of the composition of concrete structures. Engineers are exploring the relationship between concrete's mechanical properties, its microstructure and the depth of design possibilities. We are now able to create concrete structures not only with optimised strength and durability but also with specific colours or surface textures.

However, the same material that generates great enthusiasm in design circles and with researchers today has not always received general acceptance by society due to past misuse. ln the early days of building with concrete the design of a structure would be the task of one person, such as the architect or engineer. ln more recent history the aesthetics and bearing capacity were handled by several different people working simultaneously with a limited understanding of each other's ideas. This often resulted in disharmony of design concepts. There are also other reasons that explain why concrete structures have sometimes been considered with mixed feelings. There was, for instance, the erroneous belief that concrete would last forever, which resulted in unacceptable damage. Furthermore, the lowest bid system stil exists creating a tendency to look for the cheapest solution, ignoring high quality determining factors like aesthetics. lnvesting a relatively small additional amount of money in design can result in structures of considerably improved quality. 

fib sees the promotion of concrete structures as one of its most important tasks. The best way of convincing opponents and stimulating the interest of designers and investors in structures that combine both the functionality and beauty is to show examples of the most outstanding projects. The high quality award winning structures presented in this publication show that building concrete structures in which it is a pleasure to live, work and recreate is a realistic option. 

We thank all the contributors and those who have supported these awards for their valuable work and hope that it may be a stimulus for the realisation of many excellent new projects.

Joost Walraven

fib President