Build artistic custom concrete floors, cabinets, countertops, sinks, dividers, fireplaces, mantlepieces and more. In this four-color book you'll learn how to custom design, pour, finish, and seal one-of-a-kind custom interior and exterior floors.
Includes information on admixtures, crack control, custom finishes, self-leveling compounds, and reinforcement techniques. Shows how to apply inlays, linework, and stamps and finishes to concrete floors.
Build artistic custom concrete floors, cabinets, countertops, sinks, dividers, fireplaces, mantlepieces and more. In the pages of this 216-page, four-color book you'll find hundreds of ideas for ways to use concrete on the job.
You'll learn how to custom design, pour, finish, and seal one-of-a-kind custom interior and exterior floors. Includes information on admixtures, crack control, custom finishes, self-leveling compounds, and reinforcement techniques. Shows how to apply inlays, linework, and stamps and finishes to concrete floors. Explains how to create custom concrete countertops and sinks.
Illustrates the fundamentals of concrete wall design, including innovative uses for concrete block, applying color and texture on walls, using ties, rebar, and forms for walls. How to design, form and place mantlepieces and fireplace surrounds, and how to design, form and pour water pieces, columns, and more from concrete.
Weight | 2.040000 |
---|---|
ISBN | 1-56158-682-X |
Page Count | 216 |
Author | Fu-Tung Chen, with Eric Olsen |
Publisher | Taunton Press |
Dimensions | 9 x 11 |
CONTENTS
Preface, viii
Introduction, 2
Floors & Countertops
Chapter 1
The Fundamentals of Floor Design, 8
Chapter 2
Floor Essentials: Preparation, Execution & Pouring, 24
Chapter 3
Floor Transformations: Inlays, Linework, Stamps & Finishes, 48
Chapter 4
New Countertops: Classes, Products, Tools & Techniques, 76
Walls
Chapter 5
The Fundamentals of Wall Design: Character, Form & Expression, 98
Chapter 6
Wall Essentials: Fittings, Forms, Ties & Techniques, 122
Chapter 7
Beyond the Basic Wall: The Ultimate Kitchen, 144
Fireplaces, Columns, & Architectural Pieces
Chapter 8
Hearthscapes: Mantelpieces & Fireplace Surrounds, 162
Chapter 9
Architectural Elements: Water Pieces, Columns & More, 184
Resources, 208
Index, 213
Credits, 216
INTRODUCTION
The Ahwahnee Hotel sits in a meadow at the northeastern end of Yosemite
Valley. Built in 1926, it is one of the crown jewels of the National Park
system. Nearby, El Capitan, a 4,000 ft. granite carapace, rises straight off of
the valley floor while Yosemite Falls, a white ribbon in slow motion, cascades
down. In the distance, high over Half Dome, clouds return home. I first saw the
Ahwahnee one late spring day in 1981. I had wandered onto a trail through a
stand of Douglas firs, and came upon the entry to the hotel. Under a redwood
timber canopy, cars pulled up, valets opened doors, and women and men in fancy
clothes stepped out. Curious, I followed them into the lobby.
When I entered-first thing-the floors caught my eye. They were buffed and waxed
to a worn-saddle finish. Broad
expanses of veined color were cut-in with beautiful incised patterns, as though
etched with a tool. Stone? I wondered.
I bent down for a closer look, but couldn't figure out how they were made, or of
what. Finally I was amazed to realize,
these floors are concrete.
When I stood to look around, I saw concrete everywhere, used as I had never seen
it used before. I had to know more, so I signed on for the guided tour. We were
told that the structure, to reduce the vulnerability to fire, contained little
wood. Concrete had been cleverly adapted as finish material to the floors,
fireplaces, walls, and beams.
But what really impressed me was how the concrete work merged with the artwork.
In the foyer, bold geometric designs reminiscent of Native American baskets and
Santa Clara burnished pottery, were inlaid into rust-colored acid-stained
floors. In bands on the immense concrete beams, in the drapery, in the
ironwork-native graphic designs resonated with the architecture. (Our guide,
with some irony, reminded us that the native people who once roamed the valley
and inspired these designs no longer made their home here.)
Each time I visit the Ahwahnee, I am refreshed. Strangers become community
there, share the pleasures of great meals in a setting of great design, and
enjoy the beauty of the public space and the common decency of good government.
I am inspired by nature and the nature of human creativity. I head out, eager to
pursue the elusive balance among art, architecture, and concrete at home.
A History of Innovation
Although concrete in some parts of the Ahwahnee was made to look like wood and
stone, concrete's history has more to do with innovation than imitation.
Architects, designers and builders have been experimenting with concrete's
structural and sculptural qualities for more than a century. Today, you'll find
countless examples of their work in any major city-cast columns, balustrades,
and Art Deco facades and tableaus.
In California, where I live, we're fortunate to have concrete homes designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolf Schindler, and Bernard Maybeck -- three architects
known for their innovative use of the material. Rather than mask concrete's
natural tone and texture, these pioneers preferred to let the material speak for
itself, retaining the marks of form boards, the modularity of cast blocks, and
the obvious mass of solid walls. Having this heritage of well designed work in
the neighborhood definitely made an impression on me that influenced the outcome
of many projects throughout this book.
When I first traveled to Europe, I was surprised at how much I loved all the
stuff on buildings that I was taught to detest in art school. Expecting much
form and little function, I wasn't at all prepared for the beauty I encountered
in Bernini's fountains or Gaudi's undulating concrete walls. I realized that
centuries of culture could and should be crafted into buildings. I saw the
ingenuity of masons and sculptors passing down a tradition of design through the
building process. Art theories and learned concepts gain traction with hands-on
experience: I discovered the design possibilities of concrete by mixing some up
and playing with it. This is the best way I have of explaining the connection
between what I saw at the Ahwahnee and in Europe with what I do today.
Understanding the Past to Create the Future
I've often wondered why so many look to the past for design inspiration. What
vital ingredients are missing from today's houses? I think it's the soulful, the
simple, the elegant; a quality of craftsmanship, design, and respect for
materials that we associate with work from other eras. Today, we associate these
qualities with the styles of the past, but rather than simply mimic the style of
the past, we have an opportunity to invigorate our contemporary homes with
expression and creativity on contemporary terms. Christopher Alexander's A
Timeless Way of Building eloquently encourages us to rediscover the "pattern
language of designing and building instinctively" and not allow ourselves to
drift". . . in superficial trends and style, without a cultural guiding hand."
Thinking of style as an assortment of possibilities rather than as a
prescription or recipe from the past is actually quite freeing, and it's
suddenly much easier to understand how concrete might fit in just about
anywhere.
In our own work, we try to take the time to find new ways to use this age-old
material in the context of the architecture and find the way toward soulful,
personalized, well crafted design that evokes the same feelings of comfort and
value found in homes built hundreds of years ago.
COMMON MATERIALS
UNCOMMON RESULTS
"CONCRETE AT HOME is brimming with inspiration and practical wisdom. With the sure
hand of a master craftsman and the eye of an artist, Fu-Tung Cheng shows his
readers how to unleash the extraordinary potential of concrete, and transform
this unassuming raw material into unique and sublime architectural forms."
-Joan Kohn, author of It's Your Kitchen and It's Your Bath
Praise for Concrete Countertops
"Fu-Tung Cheng has made concrete look and feel soft and warm, and because of his
unique treatment, his simple and arresting designs, and his magical mixture of
color, if my home were empty, it would still [be full] of art. Because that's
what he
has made for me."
-Terry McMillan, author
"Fu-Tung Cheng demonstrates that we can bring art and creativity back home in
sustainable architecture that is both timeless and elegant."
-Alice Waters, celebrated chef, author, and owner of Chez Panisse