Coloured and texture- a concrete alternative

摘要

Concrete is a wonderful materail. Structurally sound, cost effective, productive to install and totally flexible - the workhorse of the construction industry. However, in aesthetic terms, perceptions of functionality work against the creative possibilities inherent in the product. Quite simply, if fifty per cent of the care taken with natural materials such as granite, marble stone or tiles were to be applied in the placing and finishing of concrete, quality standards of the effects achievable would surprise many. Add to this the potential for colour conditioning, texturing and post finishing to the built in attributes of concrete then designers everywhere should be making much more use of the opportunities presented. However, there are number of reasons for limited usage of concrete in aesthetic terms. These include, lack of respect and belief, lack of care and attention to detail in installation, simple pigmentation does not provide consistent or long lasting results and techniques and education on high quality finishing are not widely publicised or adapted for in-situ applications. A true Cinderella do exist to make concrete truly beautiful. The challenge is to make the world aware of what can be done and then Cinderella can go to the ball.