The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
As you can see from these "before" photos, the house is a unique concrete dome home with a lot of potential. It’s normally covered with earth, and for most of its history, it served as a residence for ministers who served the church across the street.
Luca Seminati, managing director of Ideal Work srl, helped install the Italian company’s house-made microtopping on these stylish homes in Lisbon, Portugal.
Often, in the process of selling a client on the advantages of concrete, contractors or designers essentially break out a laundry list: It’s durable. It’s versatile. It’s green, design-friendly, affordable, and on and on. Thanks to this house, we can now add “zombie-proof” to the list of concrete’s marketable features.
Concraft Concrete Construction, Leesburg, Va., submitted photos to us last year of decorative concrete work the company was wrapping up at a new home in Great Falls, Va., just outside of Washington, D.C.
Perched on a hilltop amidst the tropical rain forests of the “Big Island” of Hawaii, the Hi’ilani EcoHouse commands a view out across the Pacific Ocean that you have to see to believe. It’s your typical island paradise home. But when it comes to cutting-edge carbon neutral design and ecofriendly concrete construction, it is anything but typical.
This house, built in San Mateo County, Calif., by Cheng Design, has the fingerprints of acclaimed precast-piece designer Fu-Tung Cheng all over it.
Imagine building your dream home. All of the right elements are in place: hardwood floors, granite countertops, marble tile in the bathrooms and kitchen, exterior brick siding, flagstone pool deck, rock retaining walls and exposed aggregate driveway. Now imagine taking that plan and replacing all those elements with concrete.
Mike likes his concrete the same way he likes his breads and cheeses, with every bit of the material exuding something interesting and reflecting the character of the ambient conditions and personalities that shaped it. And he’s not the only one who feels like this.
From floors to countertops, coloring and staining concrete has brought a lifetime of memories to this contractor. Columnist and self-proclaimed "concretist" takes us on a trip back to some of his favorite projects over the years.
No, it’s not built into the fork of a tree. It’s the grown-up version, with a breathtaking mountain view and lots of decorative concrete.
