Brand Relationships in the Commodity Market

In any city or village of the Western world, travelers may come to face innumerable cultural variations: languages, local wisdom, beliefs, values, and soon. Among these variations, perhaps one in particular significantly attracts observers: the location’s architecture. The works of Antonio Gaudi, in Barcelona (Church of the Holy Family, Batlló House, among others), the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, and the Hoover Dam, on the Colorado River, United States, are some typical examples of architectonic features that are capable of impressing any observer. In and around these great or small works, even considering all cultural diversity, an element is ostensibly present: cement. Perhaps no other material has been and continues to be consumed by such different people, and yet with such similar purposes. According to Battagin (2009), John Smeaton, in 1756, elaborated the current formula for cement, by assessing the proportion of soft and clayish limestone and obtaining a mixture similar to the one that helps support buildings, bridges, and houses today. Variations of this product were typified and standardized so as to comply with different environmental conditions and improve the durability of buildings. However, the basis of this material remains practically the same.