Precast Concrete Housing: The Youngstown Project

Abstract

T potential for innovation inherent in reinforced concrete as a building material was recognized early. Many builders experimented with the new material and explored ways in which its unique properties could be advantageously exploited. Particularly interesting were many of the earty experiments that dealt with the precasting of concrete building elements. There is not always a continuous line of development, however, from early experiments in the area to our current precast concrete industry. Many innovative ideas were developed to the extent that they were field tested, only to then fall by the wayside to await rediscovery at a much later date. A good case in point is the development of housing systems made of precast building elements. The past 20 years have seen a flurry of such systems, some successful and some not. Most were developed as if there were no previous experiments at doing the same thing. Not fully appreciating previous experiments is unfortunate, since many of the more successful innovations in the use of precast elements to build housing are to be found in some of the earliest examples of precast systems. A good example is a housing project in Youngstown, Ohio. The Youngstown project does not represent the first precasting experiment in the United States, but it is among the more significant. A stable using precast concrete elements was built in Brooklyn, New York, in 1900 and was followed by a warehouse built in West Rutland, Vermont, in 1905. 1 A significant building using a precast floor and roof system was constructed in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1905. 1 In other countries, an important initial attempt at precasting apartment units was made in 1904 in Liverpool, England, by City Engineer John A. Brodie.2 Further significant developments in the United States include the precast