am-cor News

What's happening in the world of Prefab Ferrocement Kits: news on am-cor inc, buildings & construction, meetings & conventions, new products & designs, and more

India Ferrocement Society

Fourth Ferrocement Conference 2017

Sept. 7, 2019


am-cor PREFABRICATED FERROCEMENT KITS recognized as an innovative Ferrocement application!

The am-cor System was featured at the 4th India Ferrocement Society Convention, Kerala, India 2017.

Angus W. Macdonald, inventor of prefabricated Ferrocement and founder of am-cor inc., was the keynote speaker at the convention. He was also presented with the Society's Appreciation Award for Innovative Applications in Ferrocement.

Macdonald's talk addressed the importance of Ferrocement as an efficient structural type which uses much less concrete to achieve needed strength and durability. This efficiency means that the cement quantity is reduced in Ferrocement structures, as compared with cast-in-place concrete and reinforced …

Passive Solar Tiny House 2015

DIY earth bermed home

Sept. 7, 2019


This 600 sq.ft. earth bermed passive solar home was designed based on sketches by the owner. It took a crew of 4 about 3 days to assemble the am-cor Kit. All building elements including foundations were included in the Kit.

DIY Solar Chalet

2-story earth bermed house Kit

Sept. 7, 2019


Macdonald Architecture & Technology designed a 2-story earth bermed house for a private client in the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA.

The building was designed as a 5-bedroom off-grid passive solar earth tempered super insulated structure of about 6,000 sq.ft. The structural frame was panelized by am-cor inc. and erected on site by the owner's family and friends. The partition panels were light enough for children to place.

The house has 100% solar array generated electricity, LED lamps, mini-split heat pumps, solar heated hot water and in-slab radiant floor heating, and a green house passive heat collector along the lower …

St. Patrick Church Kit

super insulated Ferrocement structure

Sept. 7, 2019


am-cor created and supplied a unified steel and cement construction Kit to replace a burnt-down wooden church structure in Opal VA. The parish erected the DIY (do it yourslef) Kit and completed the building for about $75/sq.ft. (excluding site works). All structural elements of the building are made of prefabricated Ferrocement, from the footings to the roof.

Foamed-in-place insulation to walls and roof, and rigid foam insulation to foundation panels isolates the interior spaces and the earth under the church from temperature changes.

LED lighting and mini-split heat pumps were installed to save energy.  The power supply required to keep …

Tanza II

model affordable home

Sept. 7, 2019


TANZA II AFFORDABLE MODEL HOME DAR ES SALAAM TANZANIA 2011

This model home was constructed at the Tanzania Housing Corporation headquarters in Dar es Salaam.  An am-cor crew went to Tanzania to instruct and supervise construction by local builders and laborers.  The house took 3 days to enclose the structural shell, and 8 days to complete with services and interior finishes.   The normal time to complete a low cost house in Tanzania is about 3 to 5 months.

Multistory Ferrocement High-rise

We've developed a new panelized structural method for multistory construction

Sept. 20, 2011


The am-cor Hybrid Highrise structural method combines a prefabricated steel framework with the am-cor Ferrocement System, in order to create high-rise buildings using Ferrocement.

Rebuilding Haiti

Our proposal to rebuild Haiti with Ferrocement

April 22, 2011


Angus W. Macdonald, am-cor inc. founder and inventor of the am-cor System, proposes a Ferrocement solution to Haiti's housing & humanitarian issues, and offers a social, self-determining way forward: a Haitian FerroFacility.

Ferrocement & Climate Change

Our founder speaks out on how Ferrocement can save the world

March 31, 2011


Angus W. Macdonald, am-cor inc. founder and inventor of the am-cor System, discusses the high carbon footprint of standard construction, and how its impact can be mitigated by use of Ferrocement.