Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) of building products invented, made and developed by Ability.
Ability has long been committed to the development of products and practices that follow the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD).
These principles are applied in a very practical sense. A primary focus of the company is the development of specialist, high performance construction products and solutions for the building and construction industries that can demonstrate commercial viability whilst being strictly ecologically, physiologically and socially responsible.
Apart from making admixtures for improving the watertightness and durabilityof concrete, long-life paints and lightweight but very strong cemlite® creative composite materials for architects, landscape architects, designers and fabricators, Ability specialises in the milling and blending of the abilox® colourfast range of mineral oxide colouring pigments at their own state of the art production facility in Melbourne. These 100% pigment powders are non-toxic, safe-to-use, and UV-resistant.
Ability’s abilox® powder colourants are used as colouring additives and are preferably mixed integrally to colour composite materials such as all grades and classes of pre-mixed concretes, mortars, grouts, and all concrete products to result in permanent through coloured effects in durable materials of these types.
Mineral oxide pigments such as Ability’s abilox® range, not made from crude oil, but sustainable earth resources are utilised widely, in various forms of concrete, construction, including: bituminous concrete (asphalt) pavements, architectural pre-cast concrete panels, in situ concrete pavements and floors, sprayed-shotcrete construction, concrete bricks and blocks, coloured brick masonry and rendering mortars, flagstones and pavers, concrete roofing tiles, and other concrete products.
One of concrete’s many renowned features, is its substantial capacity for Fabric Energy Storage (FES), also termed thermal mass or thermal capacity. Concrete has an enormous capacity to store and release heat, thereby tempering the internal environment of a structure by reducing and delaying the onset of peak temperatures.
By helping to enhance concrete’s potential aesthetic appearance, mouldability and architectural versatility, integrally coloured concrete can play a critical role in assisting architects, landscape architects and designers to minimise what may be termed an ecological ‘footprint’ of any building or structure. With this versatility, integrally coloured concrete can assist with the attainment of ESD goals by providing a potentially high quality, highly durable and attractive appearance without the need for additional surface coating finishes or painting. This not only results in a significant reduction in the amount of embedded construction energy invested in the building or structure, it may also deliver a worthwhile reduction in the amount of energy and resources required to maintain it in future years.
The use of white and bright colouring pigments in cement bound materials and products used either internally or externally in structures can further assist with the attainment of ESD principles by helping to maximise the benefits of surface light reflectivity. For example, pre-cast panels to be visually most effective with day lighting and artificial lighting at night are best provided with a white (incorporating the titanium dioxide based abilox® Illumin-ite White oxide) or pale-coloured preferably highly light refractive surface - thereby maximising the amount of light (and heat) reflected. Importantly, due to abilox® pigment powders being mainly used to colour the concrete from within, these benefits can be provided to all manner of concrete types / units and configured designs, including precast components with complex geometric patterns and reliefs.
In addition to their abilox® colouring pigment powder range, Ability’s commitment to ESD principles extends to their entire product range. As an example, their high performance mineral surface coating products, including the ‘duro paint™’ Range which comprises: Stipple, Matte and Low Sheen and Leviathan® Matte and abil colour wash which are used just like normal paints and have been developed with a focus on reducing the amount of energy required to achieve the desired decorative surface finish - not only in terms of reducing the effort required to apply them, but also for their clean air, completely solvent / VOC* free nature as well as their highly protective properties against corrosion and erosive degradation and their extreme longevity, which substantially reduces the subsequent requirement for maintenance recoating/redecorating. (*Volatile Organic Compounds).
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