Cool precast concrete enclosure studies from Washington U. in St. Louis
Industry-academic Collaboration Produces Outstanding Educational Experience
Precast Concrete Enclosures is an elective course taught by Assistant Professor Pablo Moyano Fernandez at Washington University in St. Louis. The primary goal of the course is to enable students to envision and materialize full-scale building envelopes using precast concrete. During SP 2021, students were able to design, document and build real-scale molds that were cast at Gate’s plant in Ashland City, TN. The class was awarded $50,000 as part of a 4-year PCI Foundation grant in collaboration with Gate Precast, to lay the foundation of applied research in precast concrete building enclosures. The materialization of full-scale prototypes requires cooperation with industry partners as it provides access to resources that are not generally available at higher education institutions. This partnership enables interconnection between students’ academic learning and real applications, methods and products of the precast concrete industry.
The five panels on display
Team 1 final panel
Team 1
Raquele Cardozo
Natsuko Nozaki
Robert Tian
Team 2 final panel
Team 2
Connor Merritt
Mic Ma
Guorun Yang
Team 3 final panel
Team 3
Catherine Chun
Caleb Heusel
Team 4 final panel
Team 4
Lindsey Compeaux
Ian McWilliams
Kevin Mojica
Team 5 final panel
Team 5
Lisa Chen
Cody Xie
Meredith Busch
Congratulations to the students; nicely done!
Pablo Moyano Fernandez
Assistant Professor
Washington University - St. Louis
Pablo Moyano is Assistant Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and has more than 15 years of experience teaching design studios and seminars. He holds a professional degree in Architecture from the University of Buenos Aires where he graduated with honors in 2000, and a Master of Architecture and a Master of Urban Design from Washington University where he graduated with honors in 2004, being the recipient of the AIA medal for scholastic achievement and professional promise.
Pablo has extensive experience in the field of architecture, developing his career in firms with strong connection to construction. His teaching and research focuses on the performative aspects of concrete. He has been awarded research and teaching grants for his work exploring concrete as a sustainable building material for innovative building applications at multiple scales. Pablo served as the faculty design leader for CRETE House, Team WashU’s Solar Decathlon 2017; the project received second place in the competition’s architecture contest.
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