SILVER SPRING, MD. — Students from the California State University’s Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program will create a memorial for the fallen firefighters of a firehouse located in New York City during the annual World of Concrete Artistry event. On Sept. 11, this firehouse lost two companies including the men and women on duty for Ladder 4, Engine 54 and Battalion 9.

The memorial will be a simple, evocative design which includes two simple vertical forms representing the silhouette of the Twin Towers that will reflect light on a faceted surface ghosted with the names of the fallen firefighters. Students at each university will work with the concrete mix and create sample panels prior to arriving in Las Vegas for World of Concrete. At the show, the students will perform all of the concrete work including forming, mixing and placing the concrete, erecting the completed panels, dismantling the memorial at the end of the event, and crating it in specially designed foam forms for shipment to New York. Gruetzner, Eastergard, faculty from both schools, as well as many others from the decorative concrete industry and Hanley Wood, sponsors of World of Concrete, will be on hand to advise the students and provide their expertise during the course of the project.

"Decorative concrete is a new offering in the CIM programs at California State University, Chico, and Middle Tennessee State University,” commented Tanya Wattenburg Komas, Director/Program Coordinator at California State University. “The course has been very popular with the students because it offers a rich blend of technical knowledge and creative development and in a semester-long, hands-on environment. With so much interest in this area, both schools have been considering ways to get involved in the Artistry event at World of Concrete. This project offers a wonderful opportunity for both schools to work together on a uniquely special project."