Photo courtesy of Google Earth.

Decorative Concrete Workshop in Italy
A decorative concrete training workshop held in Italy showcased architectural concrete techniques, including indoor stamped concrete applications and concrete countertops created with Brickform's new enCounter counter top mix.
by Bent Mikkelsen

I recently flew to Italy for a two-day decorative concrete training workshop held at Ideal Work, a new Brickform partner for Europe. Company owners Luca Seminati and Maurizio Pontello showed me their state-of-the-art facility for creating decorative concrete products, including a fully stocked warehouse, exquisite showroom and classrooms equipped for PowerPoint presentations and Q&A sessions.

The concrete finishing workshop kicked off with a traditional indoor stamping seminar led by Clark Branum, technical director for Brickform. While we were waiting for the concrete to set before stamping, Maurizio gave a fascinating demonstration of the company's vertical overlayment system, called Ideal Wall. The talented Maurizio impressed everyone with his texturing and coloring methods.

When the slab was ready for stamping, Dave moved into action and demonstrated a sequence of concrete stamping techniques. Following this procedure, the students — from Norway, Sweden, UK, France, Spain, Albania, Holland, etc. — got involved in stamping the inside field and finishing off with some important detailing.

As the day progressed, Clark began a demonstration of Brickform's latest product offering, enCounter concrete countertop mix. The class not only gained a better understanding of how creative they can be with concrete countertops, but also how different methods would affect finishing techniques, which were presented on day two of the seminar. Clark's combination of technical expertise and practical experience made a powerful statement on the benefits and practicality of properly installed decorative concrete.