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Concrete’s beauty may not be immediately apparent to everyone, but it is clearly a wonder material - much of the modern world was built with concrete. But if it’s so wonderful, why have some of our schools and hospitals been closed, unsafe, crumbling above patients and pupils? When the RAAC* scandal led the news a few months ago, Phil Purnell was widely quoted in the media (for example, in this article Jeremy Hunt under fire after Treasury says no new cash to fix Raac in schools | Schools | The Guardian).

Phil Purnell is Professor of Materials and Structures at Leeds University. He will describe the past achievements and the future possibilities of concrete, but also why RAAC is now causing such a problem.
* RAAC is Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete.