Mo-Sai is a method of producing
precast concrete
Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples include precast be ...
cladding panels. It was
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling disclo ...
ed by
John Joseph Earley in 1940. The Mo-Sai institute later refined Earley's method and became the leader in exposed aggregate
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most ...
. The Mo-Sai Institute, an organization of
precast concrete
Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples include precast be ...
manufacturers, adhered to the Mo-Sai method of producing the exposed aggregate precast concrete panels.

A pivotal development in this technique occurred in 1938, when the administration buildings at the
David Taylor Model Basin were built with panels used as permanent forms for cast-in-place walls. This was the first use of the Mo-Sai manufacturing technique produced in collaboration with the
Dextrone Company
Diquat is the ISO common name for an organic dication that, as a salt with counterions such as bromide or chloride is used as a contact herbicide that produces desiccation and defoliation. Diquat is no longer approved for use in the European ...
of
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
. Working from this background, the Dextone Company refined and obtained patents and copyrights in 1940 for the methods under which the Mo-Sai Associates, later known as Mo-Sai Institute Inc. The Mo-Sai Institute grew to include a number of licensed manufacturing firms throughout the United States.
Buildings featuring Mo-Sai panels include the Columbine Building in
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
(1960), Prudential Building in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Canada (1960), Denver Hilton Hotel (now the Sheraton Denver) in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
(1960),
Los Angeles Temple (1956), Equitable Center in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...
(1964), the Hartford National Bank and Trust
Hartford, CT (1967) and the
PanAm Building
The MetLife Building (also 200 Park Avenue and formerly the Pan Am Building) is a skyscraper at Park Avenue and 45th Street, north of Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed in the Internation ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
(1962).
External links
*https://web.archive.org/web/20041221051514/http://bg.concreteproducts.com/ar/concrete_time_tested/index.htm
*http://www.precastguide.com/industry_icon/view_article.pl?id=104
Concrete
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