News Detail

American Concrete Institute Celebrates 100 Years of John Joseph Earley and the Earley Studio in Washington D.C.

6/2/2014

Sessions at the ACI Fall 2014 Convention October 26-30, 2014 in Washington DC, USA, will highlight the legacy and distinctive work of architectural concrete and ACI pioneer John J. Earley. A guided bus tour and a walking tour will supplement sessions by providing a look at some of Earley’s unique concrete projects in the DC area.

Meridian Hill Park, Washington D.C. (photo courtesy of Robert Armbruster)

John Earley was ACI’s first ‘contractor’ president in 1938, and was a member for 28 years, serving on the Architectural Concrete of the Exposed Aggregate Type Committee. Elected an Honorary Member in 1943, he was the originator of the ‘Earley Plastic Mosaic.’ In Washington DC, 20 buildings harbor one or more of his mosaics. Earley, a pioneer in the use of exposed aggregate concrete, was the contractor for the Meridian Hill Park Project, and craftsman for many other Washington DC area projects, including mosaic ceilings in the United States Department of Justice Building, and the Shrine of the Sacred Heart.

Read Earley's outgoing ACI presidential remarks from 1939 here.

John Joseph Earley

Celebrating 100 Years of John Joseph Earley and the Earley Studio Work Sessions will take place Monday, October 27, 2014, and Tuesday, October 28, 2014. The sessions will enable attendees to appreciate concrete aesthetics, recognize John J. Earley’s work, understand the restoration of his projects, and learn about the history of construction.

Reptile House National Zoo (photo courtesy of Robert Armbruster)

Session presentations will include:

• Meridian Hill Park, Masterwork in Exposed Aggregate: Who Gets Credit?
• John Early’s Mosaic Art – Saints, Dinosaurs and Battle Ships
• “Everyone is Seeking Security” John Earley and Basil Taylor’s Polychrome Houses
• The Development of the “Earley Process”
• Restoration of the Edison Memorial Tower
• Repairing Old Concrete at Meridian Hill Park, Washington DC
• Secrets of John Early’s Mosaic Concrete in the Baha’i Temple

On Sunday, October 26, 2014, attendees can take the Meridian Hill Park Walking Tour.  Participants will walk to nearby Meridian Hill Park, which features many works of John Earley. Meridian Hill Park is an extraordinary historic resource for its craftsmanship and the integrity of its built elements. It is one of the first projects to use exposed aggregate concrete for architectural expression and is an outstanding accomplishment of neoclassical park design in the United States. Five different textures of scrubbed aggregate were required to be placed monolithically with each other and with structural concrete in the same place.

Learn more about the concrete in Meridian Hill Park in this ACI Concrete International article from 1979, and this ACI Concrete International article from 2011.

On Wednesday, October 29, 2014, a guided bus tour will highlight Earley’s legacy of distinctive work in Washington DC. This tour will take participants on a guided motor coach tour with stops to visit outstanding Earley Studio projects in the nation's capital. Expert Bryan Blundell will tell the history of John J. Earley's innovation and highlight distinctive features at Meridian Hill Park, the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, the Polychrome Houses, and the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America. These spectacular projects illustrate the revolutionary work done in concrete nearly 100 years ago.

Shrine of the Sacred Heart (photo courtesy of Robert Armbruster)

Additional convention highlights:

• The Opening Session and Katharine & Bryant Mather Commemorative Lecture Series.
• Two student competitions, including the newly challenging Student Egg Protection Device Competition in which students will strive to protect their eggs through design and fabrication of a concrete reinforcing cage. A Fresh Mortar Workability Competition will also challenge students to create an ideal mixture to flow through a tortuous ACI logo mold as well as the mixture's ability to remain free of segregation.
• International Lunch – Guest speaker Dr. Man-Chung Tang will discuss concrete bridges in China.
• Contractors’ Day Lunch during which Keith Couch of Clark Construction, and Gwyon Nelson of Kiewit Infrastructure South Company will discuss Phase Two of the Dulles Metrorail Extension.
• International-themed Concrete Mixer

The convention will take place at the Washington Hilton. Reduced rate sleeping rooms are available at the Hilton until June 30th based on availability.

To learn more about the ACI Fall 2014 Convention, and to register for any of the events visit www.aciconvention.org.

If you are interested in reading more about the work of John J. Earley, visit these articles from ACI's archives:

Outgoing ACI Presidential Remarks from 1939

ACI Fellow Award

Meridian Hill Park Concrete International Article 1979

Mosaic Ceilings Article 1934

Mosaic Concrete, Concrete International Article 2011

New Walls for Modern Homes, Polychromed Mosaic Concrete House Brochure

Prefabrication for Architects, Polychromed Mosaic Concrete House Article

Download High-Resolution Photos and PDFs of Earley Projects at ACI’s Multimedia page, (click on News Photos) here