The Unveiling of Modern Concrete
Article by Dallas Bond
Traditionally, concrete as a building material was not used for its beauty. It was a foundation to be hidden by landscaping, a sub-floor to be covered with tile, or a wall to be covered with plaster. It was often treated as an unfortunate, but necessary material choice for sound Architectural design. A strong, economical, durable, but nonetheless, hideous feature of the structurally sound building design that had to be covered up. But not everyone saw concrete as the raw beast that had to be slain to achieve a truly beautiful design. In fact some saw it?s strength as beauty, and emphasized visually its role as the foundation of the house. Rather than cover it up, they changed its shape, its texture, its color. Rather than hide its essence, they put it on display. They let it shine for what it was, and what it did well, emphasizing its purpose and unmatched ability to serve its purpose, as the source of its beauty. In this sense the way one used concrete was a great explication of their philosophy of design and aesthetics.
What has become of concrete as a building material today? Is it still viewed as an unfortunate necessity to be hidden at its every use? Or is it being put on display as a beacon of organic architecture and a philosophy of design that unites form and function as a principle? As I will show through the rest of this article, it is absolutely the latter.
Today, concrete is shining. Concrete as a building material is shining with more color, more depth, more strength, and more potential than ever before. The craftsmen who are pushing the limits of the possibilities of concrete are doing so by making stronger, lighter concrete that performs better in all aspects. Modern concrete has shed the role of substrate and shines as finish work in contemporary kitchens as beautiful countertops, in restaurant bathrooms as massive single trough sinks, and as polished floors showing the exposed rocks, sand, and cement that comprise it. It is truly amazing to see how far the material has come. The reason today?s concrete has such a wide array of applications is not just due to the acceptance of it as a beautiful natural material, it is largely due to the new methods and processes of mixing, reinforcing, and forming concrete.
Concrete always used to be reinforced with steel re-bar, which is heavy and costly. Today the use of re-bar has largely been replaced by the use of glass fibers and fiberglass scrim. The use of glass fiber and fiber glass scrim allow manufacturers to reduce the amount of material used by approximately 40%. This saves both the manufacturer and consumer money and time, and is one of the main contributing factors to it?s appeal. This is by far the most revolutionary innovation in modern concrete. I use these methods nearly everyday and I?m still amazed at the seemingly limitless potential of high-strength glass fiber reinforced concrete. (GFRC)
New concrete additives coming out all the time which add strength, durability, and workability to concrete. These additives and their benefits have allowed for different methods of forming concrete. One of the additives in particular that we use in our shop everyday is acrylic. Acrylic allows the concrete to cure faster, requires less water, and it increases the overall strength and feel of the cast concrete piece. If used in high enough dosages it can even create flexible concrete! Another additive we often use is pozzolan, it is made from recycled material and used as a percentage replacement of cement, reducing the overall cost and environmental impact of the process. These additives have greatly contributed to the progression of concrete, and continue to provide the craftsmen and consumer with more options and in turn, a better product.
So it is clear that the unveiling of modern concrete has occurred. The veil has been lifted, and guess what? Nobody?s running away. The beast is truly beautiful. This is a testament to both the progression of a philosophy of design that embraces the function and essence of materials as their standard of beauty and to the progression of materials science. The ceiling of limits is getting higher and higher with every new design and application pioneered by the craftsmen who love concrete for it?s virtues. I?m one of them, and I hope this article inspires you to explore the beauty and potential of concrete.
About the Author
Dallas Bond is a concrete craftsman located in Sonoma County CA. He is the principal designer and fabricator at objectivedesigncgsw.com Visit today to see how he is pushing the envelope of concrete design with Concrete Countertops|Custom Furniture|Interior Design Dallas has over six years experience working with concrete and he continues to satisfy clients with his unique approach to interior design and furniture design. Visit Concrete Designs|San Francisco Concrete|GFRC for further details.
Posted by Dan on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 10:56 am?
Filed under Concrete ? Tagged with Aesthetics, Architectural Design, Beautiful Design, Building Material, Concrete, Concrete Building, Contemporary Kitchens, Countertops, Craftsmen, Explication, Material Choice, Modern, Necessary Material, Organic Architecture, Plaster, Pushing The Limits, Restaurant Bathrooms, Substrate, Trough Sinks, Unfortunate Necessity, Unmatched Ability, Unveiling
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