Collected Material File #06

CONCRETE RUBBLE

Collection Details

35 Claude Street, Northcote, 3070, Victoria

Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Country

Collected from a skip bin on the street

February 2024

Collection Type

Construction and demolition rubble/byproduct from a residential renovation

Previous Use

Unknown - assumed ground floor structure, footings or landscape/civil application

The story of collection

I was visiting a friends’ art studio just around the corner and stumbled across a skip bin that was located in the parking spot directly in front of the house being renovated. The skip bin held a bounty of concrete chunks as well as clay that had been dug from the front yard.


Extended Material Data

Coordinates

-37.770890632397375, 144.99699736405265

Council / Zoning

Darebin, NRZ Neighbourhood Residential

Material Origin

Unknown

Composition

Cement (alumina, silica, calcium, iron from limestone, shells, chalk, shale, clay, slate, sand, iron ore)

Limestone (calcium carbonate from rock or shell) Sand (silica)

Rocks (bluestone/slate)

Measurements (mm)

NA: Cast in situ

Absorption

TBC

Appearance

Grey, coarse and gritty with aggregate of dark brown and charcoal coloured rock within. Rocks are smooth. Sandy, abrasive texture overall.

Characteristics & Crushing Notes

Grey cement easily crushable and crumbly after bisque firing. Aggregate is dense and loud to shatter Breakdown and separate different components for greater versatility, control and wider range of results

Post-firing Characteristics (Cone 6)

Lime popouts occur. Some iron-rich rocks melt. Depending on particle size, variation in colours from green to orange to brown.

Potential Applications in Ceramics

Limestone and cement components useful as stabiliser in glaze (in place of calcium carbonate). Substitute aggregate (fine grog) for trachyte or ilmenite speckles in clay or glaze.