Precast Concrete

Hundreds of people showed up to witness the dedication of the Veterans Monument at Ken-Caryl Ranch in Ken Caryl, Colorado, which was officially presented to the community just in time for Veterans Day 2015.

Justin Brown, owner of 2Stone Designer Concrete in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, had the idea for Luna Loungers for quite a while. “It’s basically a round take on a square chair,” he says. He finally made the idea into something tangible.

A white concrete extension of precast panels added onto an apartment in the city of Innsbruck, Austria, has revitalized a century-old building.

Buildings don’t often sparkle like jewelry, but in the case of the chiller plant on the Ohio State University campus, it does just that, thanks to a highly polished RetroPlate finish and the application of dichroic glass.

Once you have successfully cast your parts and finished them completely, you are ready to install your cast concrete range hood.

“The house looked a lot like a barn,” says Wells, 36, owner of Wells Concrete Works in Los Osos, California. “The clients kept some of the old architecture and appliances and fixtures inside and out. With the outside kitchen they wanted to be able to come back from the beach and entertain lots of people.”

Jenkins offered a rock bench as a gesture of friendship, but the biologist wouldn’t accept it without his wife’s approval. Turns out, the wife desired a bench in the shape of a whale’s tail.

Kevin Brown is a soft-spoken, humble-yet-accomplished man who got into the business of concrete work through his family. As he describes it, he knew from a young age that he wanted to follow in the family footsteps.

Structures like these - with a smooth, weathered surface and a nature-inspired pattern, cast in relief - have the power to turn unused sidewalk space into a lush roadside minipark.

When you enter the showroom of Faciliteq, a company headquartered in Las Vegas that specializes in high-performance architectural interiors and sells Artego panels, you’ll be wowed by the artful possibilities of raised flooring.

A stupa is one of the most venerable icons in Buddhism. It's a structure steeped in symbolism, and building or maintaining one is said to bring a person close to enlightenment.

Ken Tucker, a resourceful contractor solves a potential color problem with a new process - turning tilt-up concrete panels upside down.

When Steve Moore, a retired escape artist and Harry Houdini historian, went looking for someone to help restore a damaged bust from Houdini’s grave, Bart Sacco’s was the first name to come up.

Reinforce your knowledge and make structurally strong concrete countertops.

In FuTung Cheng’s view, the term “decorative concrete” fails to convey the full measure of the material’s prowess in enhancing design. Coloring, texturing, stamping or staining don’t begin to tell the whole story.

Curiosity: Stay eternally curious about better methods, collaborative opportunities and advances in sustainability.
Artistry: Remember that concrete is an artisan’s canvas.
Innovation: Employ state-of-the-art techniques to achieve a very dense and reliable concrete product.

Concrete rivals or surpasses many common architectural materials when it comes to versatility of design and application. Its customizability is well-known, and more fabricators are starting to realize how they can capitalize on its versatility in expanding their market.

Architect Michael Arad, along with landscape architect Peter Walker, designed the memorial to honor the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon and in a field near Shanksville, Pa. The memorial also honors the six people killed in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Concrete lounge chairs are one of the hottest applications of concrete furniture made with glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC).

A brilliant white concrete pavilion sits proudly on the grounds of a popular tourist destination in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. The pavilion frames three sides of a paved courtyard at La Quinta Montes Molina — a historic early-20th century mansion in Merida that now serves as a museum and venue for social events in the garden.

As graceful as an acrobatic touchdown catch by Danny Abramowicz. As stunning as a Mel Blount goal-line interception. More sweeping than a Vida Blue curveball.

Here, the Concrete Decor staff shares its top 10 favorite out-of-the-ordinary concrete creations that were featured or almost featured in the past 99 issues. The thin-shell pavilion and fabric-formed planter tied for first place, while the faux bois sconce and slippers tied for second.

Nolan King, owner of King Architectural Concrete and Construction LLC in River Falls, Wisconsin, started his own construction business at the age of 23 after graduating from college in 2001 with an engineering degree. His business focused primarily on home remodeling work.