Innovations In Concrete
Students at the Royal College of Art have pushed the boundaries
of preconception to prove that there is more to cement and concrete
than a grey, utilitarian building material. The Innovations in
Concrete awards, sponsored by the British Cement Association (BCA),
challenged students to demonstrate versatility and innovation in
the use of cement and concrete.
The brief
Students were asked to re-invent concrete's untapped creative
and functional potential using cement in surprising ways. The
judges were looking for challenges to the assumptions about how
concrete is used as a material through innovative thinking and/or
exploring issues connected with sustainability.
The competition was held in two stages:
Stage 1
Ideas and concepts developed using sketches and simple models to
reveal the direction and characteristics of the material explored,
together with potential application.
Stage 2
Shortlist drawn up and successful students attended a workshop with
concrete sculptor Carole Vincent. Entrants then developed schemes
to final submission stage with high quality design panels.
The awards
Speaking at the awards ceremony on 02 June, Mike Gilbert, Chief
Executive of the BCA, said: "The judges were very impressed by the
range, inventiveness and overall quality of the entries. The BCA
has sponsored this event for four years, and we hope the students
will continue to use and develop their original and inspiring
designs to make the physical environment we all share a more
interesting place."
First prize
The
first prize was awarded to a concrete paving solution that allows
people to help shape their public spaces. Slowly changing its
appearance in reaction to wear, Spacetime Slab provides a visual
and tactile record of pedestrian traffic. The designers, Francesca
Maffei, Alaistair Steele and Nick Turvey, believe that this
responsiveness renders concrete less alienating, reduces vandalism,
and that the inscribed history of use will improve city
navigability for both sighted and visually impaired
pedestrians.
Second prize
Second prize winner
Aneta Deleu Regel created a material based on a mixture of high
alumina concrete and granite components, which becomes
semi-translucent once fired. Transformed with Light is easy to form
and good for large, flat surfaces, which makes it ideal for
architectural detail, particularly interior and exterior wall
panelling that reacts to light changes.
Third prize
Two third prizes were
awarded: Amanda Moore produced a number of small, curved tiles in
open rubber moulds which have a feathered, almost fossilised wing
detail on one side. These tiles can be locked together and cast
full-size to form the walls of a cathedral-height outdoor structure
or modern relic.
Henry Hobson devised and
produced a technique allowing the screen printing of cement, which
achieves flexibility, superfine image reproduction and colour
matching. When combined with a light sensitive agent, the cement
printing can reveal surprising patterns or information on concrete
surfaces when subjected to suitable light sources.