Buildings
Structure, lining, insulation or finish depending on family.
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Strength70
Heat resistance68
Fire performance90
Insulation22
Workability60
Circularity30
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Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
Is Concrete non-combustible?
Declared reaction class in this atlas: A1. Assemblies still need resistance tests.
Does Concrete insulate?
Thermal mark 22/100 versus the atlas. Conductivity note: ~1.4 W/m·K.
What is the density band?
~2400 kg/m³
How is it made?
Origin story: Roman pozzolana; Aspdin 1824; Hennebique RC (Rome → Leeds → Paris).
Can it be recycled?
Circularity mark 30/100 — editorial, route-specific.
Typical melting or failure heat?
does not melt; dehydrates and spalls
heat 68 · fire 90
Concrete earns its keep in systems: a beam, a batt, a fibre blend, a coated steel — rarely a lone coupon.
Products below are cultural landmarks as much as SKUs.
Sectors
Transport
Mass, fire and fatigue rewrite the grade list.
Energy
Heat, voltage and hydrogen compatibility.
Consumer
The volume that pays for the mill.
Medical / food
When allowed — extractables and allergies matter.
Defence / safety
Ballistics, FR clothing, fire stops.
Products
Pantheon dome
126 CE
Ingalls Building
1903
Hoover Dam
1936
Burj Khalifa mix
2010
Hennebique frame
1890s
Brutalist béton
1950s–
Shotcrete tunnel
20th c.–
Roman marine
antiquity
Pairings
steel
The tensile partner (rebar).
gypsum-board
Interior fire linings on concrete frames.
wood
The other mass-timber rival for mid-rise.
mineral-wool
The insulation concrete is not.
If the pairing is wrong, the material will be blamed for a system fault.
Keep exploring
More in Ceramics & wood
🪟
Glass
Frozen silicate liquid — windows, bottles, fibres and a Euroclass A1 skin that still shatters and melts in fire.
Overall 58 💎Technical ceramics
Crystalline oxides and carbides for heat, wear and electronics — not the mug on the desk.
Overall 64 🌲Wood
Anisotropic cellulose composite grown as trees — carpentry, mass timber and a combustible story that codes still manage.
Overall 57 🎋Bamboo
A fast grass culm sold as timber — scaffolding, flooring and a glue story that decides the indoor air.
Overall 55