The latest edition of the PCI Design Handbook has been published and is now available. The industry’s leading design guide for precast and prestressed concrete provides easy-to-follow design procedures; numerical examples; and both new and updated design aids using ACI 318-05, ASCE 7-05, IBC 2006, and other current industry standards. This indispensable, nearly 800-page publication provides the designer with comprehensive and efficient procedures for the safe design of both architectural and structural precast and prestressed concrete products. The design information and recommendations are based on the latest research as well as the consensus of practicing engineers. Every designer needs this indispensable publication at his or her fingertips for quick reference.

The annual PCI Design Awards competition is under way for 2010 and now is the time to submit your project for consideration. For 48 years, the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute has recognized outstanding projects for excellence in design and construction quality using precast/prestressed concrete. These projects demonstrate how designers are continuing to utilize precast, prestressed concrete components to achieve more cost-effective, sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, and quickly constructed projects. The two principal award categories are Buildings and Transportation Structures. There are also three special award categories: Best Sustainable Design, Best All-Precast Structure, and the prestigious Harry H. Edwards Award for innovation.

My third entry in my "Seven Wonders" series is the The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a bridge spanning Tampa Bay, Florida a structure that, to my mind, is a fine example of function and beauty combined in one structure.

The beauty of precast sometimes lies not in its aesthetics, but in its functionality and flexability. The precast used for line the "Chunnel" (the  Channel Tunnel that undersea rail tunnel linking the United Kingdom with northern France beneath the English Channel).