The invention comprises a connector for a pair of opposed spaced concrete forming panels. The connector comprises an elongate spacer member having flanges formed thereon intermediate a central portion thereof and each opposite end thereof. A portion of at least one end of the spacer member is sized and shaped to selectively engage an elongate panel bracing member. A composite insulated concrete form and a method of using the insulated concrete form are also disclosed.

A composite foam and concrete building component (1) for forming panels such as walls and roofs includes a central core (4) of structural concrete as a framework of spaced posts (6) and beam (7) structures, around blocks (8) of rigid, closed cell foam material such as expandable polystyrene (EPS) foam or expanded poly-lactid acid (PLA) foam. The core is straddled by front and back layers (2,3) of low density, cellular concrete, thus encapsulating the foam blocks. Cellular concrete plugs (14) can extend through the foam blocks to bond the layers together. The component can be formed by separately pouring the structural and cellular concrete without significantly altering the formwork.

Various cement-containing forms and related compositions and methods are disclosed herein. Some cement-containing forms disclosed in this application include cement and expanded polystyrene. The cement forms, in some cases, are formed by a process that involves combining cement and expanded polystyrene with one or more liquids that interact with the expanded polystyrene to improve adhesion between the cement and the expanded polystyrene. The resulting forms may provide insulating properties. Some of the disclosed cement-containing forms and compositions may also have a relatively low density in comparison with other cement-containing compositions.

The invention comprises connector for a pair of opposed spaced concrete forming panels. The connector comprises an elongate spacer member having flanges formed thereon intermediate a central portion thereof and each opposite end thereof. A portion of at least one end of the spacer member is sized and shaped to selectively engage an elongate panel bracing member. A composite insulated concrete form and a method of using the insulated concrete form are also disclosed.

A concrete wall formwork module is provided in which the lateral and longitudinal opposite side edges of the modules are provided with complementary shapes that lock in place two adjacent modules when they are both deployed. The opposite side edges of adjacent modules interlock in one direction and are configured for adjoining according to a shiplap arrangement in the other direction.

The invention comprises connector for a pair of opposed spaced concrete forming panels. The connector comprises an elongate spacer member having flanges formed thereon intermediate a central portion thereof and each opposite end thereof. A portion of at least one end of the spacer member is sized and shaped to selectively engage an elongate panel bracing member. A composite insulated concrete form and a method of using the insulated concrete form are also disclosed.

Disclosed herein is an earthquake-resistant rammed earth structure. The earthquake-resistant rammed earth structure includes an armed scaffold located inside a rammed earth wall. The armed scaffold includes a foundation at the bottom, a bond beam at the top, two concrete columns at two respective corners extending from the foundation to the bond beam, a mesh network with a zigzag arrangement continuously extending from the foundation to the bond beam, a strand of barbed wire perpendicularly woven into the mesh network, a plurality of parallel vertical rebars extending from the foundation to the bond beam, a plurality of parallel horizontal rebars extending between the two concrete columns, a plurality of U-shaped fasteners fastening the plurality of vertical rebars, the plurality of horizontal rebars, and the mesh network together, and a plurality of transverse connectors transversely interlocking the rammed earth wall and the armed scaffold.

In a one aspect there is disclosed a formwork wall panel (10) having an operative inner surface (12) to face towards an inner space to be filed with building material and an opposing operative outer surface (14) having a surface finishing component (16) secured thereto. The operative inner surface (12) of the formwork wall panel (10) includes a brace coupling formation (18) operatively adapted to engage a wall panel coupling formation (20) of a brace (22) operatively extending between the formwork wall panel (10) and an opposing second formwork wall panel.