GETTING HANDS-ON WITH CONCRETE
When it comes to the allure of the viscous composite of dirt and water that hardens into concrete, Concreteworks owner Mark Rogero says, “What we do brings out the inner 10-year-old; there’s a primordial instinct to make things.” His company’s Lab division invites designers to collaborate on the development of fabrication of advanced 3-D forms, offering expertise in design and production for unique, one-off projects. “Our goal with the Lab is to demystify concrete in the landscape for architects and designers. Once we’ve explained with them what’s possible, we invite them to design it,” Rogero says. Among the projects to arise from Concreteworks’ Lab are 34 sculptural wall panels for the FRAC Centre in Orleans, France. The panels have a soft, pillowy appearance that belies the hardness of the material from which they are formed. Another is a snowy white sculptural screen separating public and private areas of a Sonoma home, its clean crosshatch design imbued with depth and dimensionality, and created using 3-D printing technology. Concrete design pioneer Fu-Tung Cheng says that just before his bestselling book, “Concrete Countertops: Design, Form, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath” (Taunton Press), was released, he realized, “Anyone who reads this is going to call me to find out where to get the stuff I mention. Oh, no — I think we’re in the concrete countertop supply business!” Thus was born the Concrete Exchange, a separate arm of Cheng Design that is aimed at concrete do-it-yourselfers. The Exchange website includes a library of how-to videos, like “How to Make Recycled Glass Countertops” and “Make a Concrete and Wooden Bench,” as well as links to purchase concrete mixes, tools and equipment. The Concrete Exchange also offers hands-on workshops in its Berkeley location. Cheng is particularly excited about a new product he’s spearheaded called ShapeCrete, made in collaboration with concrete manufacturer Sakrete. ShapeCrete is a mix-it-yourself, pliable concrete blend to which water is added for a batter-like consistency. Then it’s a question of shaping, draping, sculpting and molding; when ShapeCrete dries, it has the hardness of concrete. The growing library of project how-tos on the ShapeCrete website includes a draped planter, a decorative leaf and a time machine pendant. Though it just started hitting Home Depot store shelves in September, ShapeCrete already won the award for best design material 2015 from the annual Dwell on Design show. Cheng says, “We wanted to make something that would be easy to use, pourable and buildable. It took four years to get it right.”