The 2026/5 issue of Cement features a wide variety of interesting articles, covering topics ranging from challenging structural designs and the reuse of bridge girders to structural safety, reinforcement detailing, the new generation of Eurocodes, and concrete technology.
Cantilever Challenge
The project Downtown demonstrates how structural design can contribute to ambitious architecture
Authors:
Paul Korthagen MSc RO, Dennis Rietdijk MSc RO, Matthij Moons MSc RC, IMd Consulting Engineers
The Downtown residential tower is a new addition to Rotterdam’s skyline. What makes the building remarkable is not so much its height, but rather its 10 m cantilever. Through close collaboration between the structural engineer, architect, and contractor, the design and construction method were optimized at an early stage.
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Failure Tests for the Reuse of Girders on the A76
Investigation into the capacity of HNP girders for a circular viaduct (2)
Authors:
Maikel van Dooren MSc, Jose Paredes MSc EngD, Nebest
The design of the circular viaduct across the A76 motorway at Daelderweg is largely based on the reuse of existing HNP girders from the former Keizer Karel viaduct. To enable their reuse, the capacity of these girders was investigated, with several girders tested to failure. The measured failure loads and observed failure mechanisms were analysed and translated into design values for reuse, applying the Design Assisted by Testing method from NEN-EN 1990.
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The Structural Engineer as a Driving Force
Structural Engineer of the Year 2026 (1)
Author:
Jacques Linssen MSc, Cement / Aeneas Media
Ronald Wenting and Stijn Platzer have been named Structural Engineer of the Year and Talent of the Year, respectively. Over the coming year, they will share their views on the structural engineering profession in Cement. The editors asked them which topics they would like to bring to the fore.
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New Construction or Alteration
The required level of structural safety
Author:
Hajé van Egmond MSc, Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
For alterations to existing buildings, it is often stated that the legally acquired level is the applicable starting point. While this is correct for many aspects, it does not apply to structural safety. Articles 5.9 and 5.10 of the Bbl explicitly provide an exception: structural alterations are subject to the alteration level specified in NEN 8700.
This is not only the standard to be applied by those reviewing building plans, but also the minimum level to be observed by the designer. When assessing the addition of extra storeys, new openings, changes of use, or reconstruction, engineers must assess not only the new elements, but also the existing structure at the appropriate level. Depending on the situation, all statutory levels may be relevant: the new-build level, alteration level, and rejection level.
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Time to Get Rid of the VODO Structural Engineer
Opinion
Authors:
Remko Wiltjer MSc and Patrick van Dodewaard MSc, IMd Consulting Engineers
Every stage of the construction process, from conceptual design through to construction, presents its own challenges. The input of the structural engineering consultant is essential throughout all these stages. To achieve the best overall result, this role should remain with one and the same party throughout the project.
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A Critical Look at Exposure Classes for Car Park Floors
Understanding the Standards (9)
Authors:
Niki Loonen BEng, TBI
Michaël Menting BEng, Dura Vermeer
The appropriate concrete exposure class for car park floors is the subject of considerable debate. Such floors are in a dry environment for much of the time, but may nevertheless be exposed to water containing low concentrations of de-icing salts (chlorides).
There is no straightforward answer as to which exposure class should be applied, while the choice affects concrete strength, shrinkage, cracking, and environmental impact.
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Minimum Reinforcement in Beams
Structural Calculations in Practice (30)
Author:
Matthijs de Hertog MSc, Nobleo Bouw & Infra
To prevent brittle failure of concrete cross-sections, a minimum amount of reinforcement is required. This minimum reinforcement is the reinforcement needed to resist the cracking load: the combination of bending moment and axial force that produces a maximum tensile stress in the most highly tensioned fibre equal to the tensile strength of the concrete.
A calculation example is used to explain how this minimum required reinforcement should be determined.
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The Thumb in the Car Park
Column – Rico Zweers
“In Røldal, we arrive at a strange concrete building. Rough concrete, with the formwork marks still visible, lots of glass, a free-form structure cantilevering over the water, and a spiral staircase winding its way up the outside before disappearing back into the building. Brutalism in Norway!”
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Shanghai’s Hanging Gardens
Concrete in Focus
Author:
Kirsten Hannema MSc
Along the Suzhou River in the megacity of Shanghai, a hilly building complex has arisen from which 1,000 concrete columns “grow” like trees, their crowns taking the form of planters filled with trees and shrubs.
Heatherwick Architects set out to create a sustainable mega shopping centre combining urban densification with greenery. Despite its vast scale (300,000 m², 400 m long, with peaks reaching 30, 60, and 100 m) the complex was also intended to retain a human scale, in keeping with the adjacent M50 art district and a newly created park.
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The Road to the New Generation of Eurocodes
Second-Generation Eurocodes series
Author:
Jacques Linssen MSc, Cement / Aeneas Media
A new generation of Eurocodes is on its way, a development that will hardly have escaped the attention of structural engineers. What is involved in developing these new standards? When will they officially come into force? And what should engineers do in the meantime? The editors of Cement provide clarification.
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The Young Structural Engineer
In this section we meet Femke Middeldorp of Witteveen+Bos. Among other things, she discusses her project Transitie Werven Den Brielstraat in Amsterdam and shares her views on the structural engineering profession.
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Demountable Culvert System Using Basalt Reinforcement and Low-Carbon Concrete
A graduation study comparing various alternatives using multi-criteria design optimization
Concrete Study Award series
As part of a graduation project at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, research was conducted into a demountable culvert system using basalt reinforcement and low-carbon concrete. Multi-criteria design optimization was used to investigate and compare various design alternatives incorporating different variables.
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High Reinforcement Concentrations
Learned Something New (7)
Author:
Leo Molenbroek MSc RO, Heijmans Infra
Even in structures that appear relatively straightforward, reinforcement can become highly concentrated at connections. This can result in structures that are difficult or even impossible to construct, increased cracking, and poor concrete quality.
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Read in Structural Concrete
Structural Concrete Vol. 27/2 (April 2026) contains a variety of papers. This article provides Dutch summaries of a selection of papers considered particularly relevant to Cement readers:
This issue also includes a Short Project Note on the Bajes Kwartier development in Amsterdam. Ronald Wenting (ABT) and Jeroen van Driel (BAM) authored two papers on the project, which was previously the subject of a special issue of Cement.
Read the full article in Dutch
Read in Betoniek
New section on concrete technology
Betoniek is a knowledge platform focusing on concrete technology and construction practice. Knowledge of these fields is essential to the successful design of concrete structures. For this reason, Cement publishes brief summaries of relevant articles from Betoniek.
This edition covers four articles from Betoniek 2026/2 (May 2026), a special issue on new raw materials and circularity, published in connection with the Concrete Technology Symposium held in May 2026. The full versions of the articles are available on Betoniek.nl.
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