Prefab Concrete House Designs

International Billboard Research Trip 'Ridiculous,' Watchdog Says

The Obama administration has ordered a halt to a decade-long, multi-million dollar program that sent bureaucrats around the world to study foreign highways, but not before one group of officials completes an on-going taxpayer-funded foreign jaunt.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said late Tuesday that he was suspending the program "while [he] personally reviews the way taxpayer dollars have been spent." The statement came just hours after ABC News contacted LaHood's office with questions concerning the program.

"The president has been clear: We must get rid of stupid spending and pointless waste," LaHood said in an email to ABC News. "Each taxpayer dollar is precious, and there is no excuse for wasting a single one. That's why ... I have suspended this program."

But LaHood's order came while a group of transportation officials was already abroad and that group plans to continue their itinerary -- studying pavement -- while LaHood studies the value of the program. The group will return June 26, as scheduled, officials said.

"Taxpayers certainly should be outraged that their money is being spent on this type of activity when our roads are falling part, gas taxes and prices are at an all time high," Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste, said on "Good Morning America." "It really is a ridiculous use of our money."

READ: Billboard Boondoggle? Obama Administration Halts Globe-Trotting Trips for Bureaucrats

The initiative, known as the International Scan Program, has been sending federal and state transportation employees to popular foreign tourist destinations for the past decade with the goal of studying how other countries handle the challenges of running major highway networks. Other trips have been planned to study such issues as motorcycle safety, managing pavement, precast concrete, and adapting to climate change. But the program began prompting questions in recent weeks, as members of Congress learned that a group of transportation officials traveled around the globe – a nine city tour that took them to Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Great Britain -- in order to prepare a 76-page report about policies for dealing with billboard advertising.

Photos from the trip obtained by ABC News show some of the 12-member delegation toasting with wine glasses in Australia and driving the tulip-lined highways of Holland. Travel records show the group secured luxury accommodations and ate well. In Melbourne, that meant dining along the waterfront at the pricey Scusami Italian Restaurant; in Brisbane, the LAB Restaurant; in Stockholm, the five-star Fem Sma House.

Prefab Concrete House Designs - News


Shea Concrete Precast Building Perfect Fit for Beach Facility in Eastham, MA

The goal from the outset of the project was to devise a strategy that would exceed all design, functionality, and long term maintenance requirements and expectations. The best solution to achieve these goals was found in erecting a precast concrete



International Billboard Research Trip 'Ridiculous,' Watchdog Says
International Billboard Research Trip 'Ridiculous,' Watchdog Says

Other trips have been planned to study such issues as motorcycle safety, managing pavement, precast concrete, and adapting to climate change. But the program began prompting questions in recent weeks, as members of Congress learned that a group of



The Note: Where's The Beef? Jon Huntsman Serves Up Tofu To GOP Base

Other trips have been planned to study such issues as motorcycle safety, managing pavement, precast concrete, and adapting to climate change. But the program began prompting questions in recent weeks, as members of Congress learned that a group of



Northwest Living Architecture as art in Joe Herrin-designed home on Orcas Island

The counters are precast concrete from Dogpaw Design. All the cabinets in the home are vertical-grain fir, including these built-ins in the master bedroom. "THIS IS WHY we bought the place," says Jim Jonassen, taking a drink of coffee but keeping his



Researcher: Thomas Edison also invented the concrete house
Researcher: Thomas Edison also invented the concrete house

Edison's 1917 patent suggested a building-sized mold that used the naturally dynamic properties of concrete to form itself into an assortment of shapes and sizes, restricted only by the design of its framework. The innovation's potential efficiencies




Design*21's Tatami Mat-Based Tatami Residence in Marina del Rey ...

The Tatami Residence , by LA-based design*21 , is 1,800 square feet on one story, laid out around an interior courtyard that can be extended into the house via floor to ceiling glass doors. It was designed for a young Japanese couple and "is based on multiples of the Japanese tatami mat . This system of measurement—used for centuries in traditional Japanese homes—guarantees that the layout has a human scale." Unlike a tatami mat, the house is made not out of straw, but of prefab concrete panels. Its almost-blank facade is intended to provide privacy.


Prefab Concrete House Designs - Bookshelf

Popular Mechanics

Popular Mechanics

Twenty- ton cranes swing precast wall and roof sections into place in a few hours. An entire house can be ready for occupancy in two weeks. ...

Popular Mechanics

Popular Mechanics

Now, some of the most interesting house designs come from the prefabricators ... Prefabricated concrete homes, prefabricated on the job, if you please, ...

Log Home Design

Log Home Design

You have the same design choices — full basement, crawlspace or concrete slab — and the same material choices — masonry block, poured concrete, precast ...

Log Home Design

Log Home Design

Precast concrete foundations consist of slabs that have been formed and cured off ... are hollow foam forms stacked in the shape of a home's exterior walls. ...

Home Delivery, fabricating the modern dwelling

Home Delivery, fabricating the modern dwelling

The case of Japan thus begs fundamental questions about the nature of prefabricated house design and construction. Namely, how new is the idea of ...

Detect News Directory


Bunker House Made of Prefab Concrete Blocks – Haus Bold ...
This house which looks like some kind of bunker is a private residence designed by Thomas Bendel. It's made of prefabricated concrete blocks besides its front

Prefab concrete house, Design 21, world architecture news ...
Prefab concrete house, Santa Monica, United States. Monday 04 Dec 2006. Prefab concrete ... Design: The design idea is to create a simple contemporary healthy house with ...

Prefab Home Designs | DigsDigs
{ 1 comment } concrete house design, concrete walls house, contemporary concrete houses, contemporary prefab house, modern prefab house, prefab ...

Concrete Prefab House - contemporary design in Switzerland ...
Concrete Prefab House - contemporary design in Switzerland, filled with popular modern furniture ... This concrete prefab delivers exactly what the clients wanted ...

Modular Building With a Twist: Prefab Concrete Block Home ...
Modular Building With a Twist: Prefab Concrete Block Home ... construction block, however, this contemporary concrete house design manages to challenge the common ...