American Society of Concrete Contractors

USAFA Air Gardens

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 18:18:00 GMT

In the early days of the U.S. Air Force Academy, the focal point of the cadet parade grounds was a 600-foot grid of concrete, landscape, and pools known as the Air Gardens. By the late seventies, the Academy decided the upkeep on the area was just too much and filled 13 of the 15 pools with dirt and grass. The area remained untouched for 46 years. In 2020 Colorado Hardscapes, Greenwood Village, CO was selected to restore the gardens to their former grandeur.

After more than a decade of discussions and planning, in 2020 Colorado Hardscapes was selected to work with G.E. Johnson Construction to restore the Air Gardens to its former iconic grandeur.

35,175 sq. ft. of specialty concrete was developed with white cement and white aggregate to complement the white marble bands surrounding the area as well as to contrast with the pools, finished with a charcoal plaster. Over a mile of exposed finished vertical edges of copings, walkways, and fifteen bridges required innovative forming and finishing techniques. The layout throughout the Air Force Academy, including the Air Gardens, is at multiples of seven, resulting in saw cutting all the paving into 21” "tiles" consistent with the original layout. In addition to the challenges of the layout and specialty concrete mixes, Colorado Hardscapes overcame the challenges of COVID-19, working through the winter, and having concrete delivered to a secured site.

Runk & Pratt

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 18:17:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Runk & Pratt, Decorative Concrete of Virginia, Lynchburg, VA
First Place: Decorative Resinous Coatings, Over 5,000 SF

Built in an old grocery store, the owner opted for a two-toned look that felt like water, with a few added highlights. The mixing crew from Decorative Concrete of Virginia alternated between three-gallon batches of dark and light blue, followed by a three-quart batch of white to have plenty of time to blend the colors. 150 gallons of the metallic coat were mixed for the job and the 8,000 SF project was placed in one pour.

Carnival Square Halong City

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 18:15:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Carnival Square Halong City, Bomanite International Ltd., Quezon City, Philippines
First Place: Concrete Artistry, Over 5,000 SF

The Sun Plaza Grand World is located next to Ha Long Bay, Vietnam and is adjacent to the 13-acre Sun Carnival Plaza. The multi-function park includes 1,550 m2 of water music area, outdoor theater area up to 25,000 m2, and an ornamental garden of 18,000 m2.

The multi-colored design was based on the shape and light of the sun. A geodetic machine was used to accurately locate the color points. Each slab of color had to be installed and the flat elevation maintained separately. Working during the government lock down for Covid-19, QA/QC was unable to enter the site, leaving most of the work to be accomplished via video call and viber.

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 18:13:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Trademark Concrete Systems, Camarillo, CA
First Place: Cast-in-Place Special Finishes, Over 5,000 SF

The most recent addition to “Museum Row” on Los Angeles’ famed “Miracle Mile” is the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. This is a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to the art, science, and history of moviemaking. Trademark Concrete Systems, Inc., installed over 33,000 SF of interior concrete topping slabs for exhibition spaces within the historic Saban Building. At the building’s exterior crews placed over 37,000 square feet of EcoCast® textured cast-in-place paving, 13,000 SF of Bomanite Grasscrete paving, and various other decorative concrete elements throughout this iconic project.

ASU-Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 18:04:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
ASU-Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7, Unlimited Designs, Salt Lake City, UT
First Place: Vertical/Facades, Over 5,000 SF

The project was a value selected procurement process that involved pricing and an evaluation of skill level to complete the work, along with the firm's ability to assist with design. Due to the complexity of the project and the fact that the building will serve as a new gateway to the Tempe campus, Unlimited Designs worked closely with the architects and owner to develop project drawings. The building was designed to meet specifications for LEED Gold at a minimum, and many environmental concerns were addressed. The geometry of the panels was designed so that as the sun crossed the sky it would minimize direct sunlight hitting the windows. The project was first modeled in 3d software in coordination with extensive light studies to develop the panel geometry. Due to the critical location of each panel there were minimal tolerances allowed in both the manufacturing and placement of the panels.

Decorative Concrete Institute Facility

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:59:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Decorative Concrete Institute Facility, Bob Harris, Structural Services, Inc., Waxahachie, TX and Lee Ann Harris, Decorative Concrete Institute, Temple, GA
First Place: Stained & Dyes, Under 5,000 SF

This project was based on a Basilica in Venice that the owners love. The design was installed over integrally colored concrete textured with seamless tamps. Six colors of acid stain were used with varying dilution ratios. The project was particularly challenging because it was stained in the winter when stains react and absorb more slowly. The concrete also has significant slope which meant the stains could not be over applied or they would run and wick onto the adjoining pattern.

WestStar Tower

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:56:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
WestStar Tower, Bomanite Artistic Concrete & Pools, El Paso, TX
First Place: Architectural Cast-in-Place Concrete Structures, Under 5,000 SF

The concrete placement at WestStar Tower had to be done in 4-foot sections to avoid splatter. The work was fast paced with five concrete trucks, each holding a different color, on site simultaneously. After placement, the walls, raised planters and benches were sandblasted to expose the aggregate, then sealed.

Fort Edmonton Park Indigenous Peoples Experience

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:51:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Fort Edmonton Park Indigenous Peoples Experience, Desco Coatings of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
First Place: Stained & Dyes, Over 5,000 SF
First Place: Project Video

The Indigenous Peoples Experience is the story of Edmonton’s river valley. This canvas of a floor was ground and polished to difference depths; exposing texture to embody the banks of the river. The penetrating dye formed the markings of animal prints, lot lines, and text. The entire project was laid out in full scale with massive rolls of paper as the floor had to line up with the set pieces to be installed later.

Words from Treaty 6 encircle the gathering space; stark reminders of commitments made. Laid out with giant multi-part stencils and cut by hand, each letter was thoughtfully installed, the gravity of the project never escaping the workers.

Norton Children’s Hospital Healing Garden

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:43:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Norton Children’s Hospital Healing Garden, Architectural Concrete Construction, Louisville, KY
First Place: Cast-in-Place Special Finishes, Under 5,000 SF

The Norton Children’s Hospital Garden posed a unique set of challenges the contractor had never faced. In the winter, beginning at 4 a.m. and in below freezing temperatures, the contractor installed custom radii forms atop a foam subgrade. This required out of the box problem solving to attach the forms to the foam without compromising the foam boards during demolding. This project was on the second floor of a parking garage, so weight was a huge factor in the installation process; no gravel subgrade could be used. A pumpable, lightweight concrete mix with custom integral colors was developed to meet the hospital’s vision. The custom colors gave this finished product a one of a kind look for the children to enjoy while recovering.

Downtown Danbury Transit Oriented Development

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:40:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Downtown Danbury Transit Oriented Development, Connecticut Bomanite Systems, Bethel, CT
First Place: Cast-in-Place Stamped, Over 5,000 SF

Included as part of the revitalization process of the Downtown Danbury Transit Oriented Development were reconstruction of the sidewalks and streetscape. Over 14,416 SF of sidewalks were installed using Bomanite Medium Ashlar Slate and Soldier Course Belgian Block imprint patterns with the traditional Bomanite color hardener and releases to provide durability, wear, and fade resistance.

Dennis Collins Park

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:38:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Dennis Collins Park, Beyond Concrete, Keyport, NJ
First Place: Cast-in-Place Stamped, Under 5,000 SF

Two areas in a park overlooking the Bayonne Bridge were transformed using Bomanite stamped concrete. Project scope included a 2,200 SF circular area using a cobblestone pattern in shale gray with highlights, and a granite textured border in light ash with a forest brown highlight. Formwork for the second circle were checked with a laser to be absolutely precise. Concealed control joins create a seamless boardwalk. A raised stage of both 6-inch and wide planks provided the real wood decking appearance the customer desired.

Legoland Lego Movie World

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:36:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Legoland Lego Movie World, T.B. Penick & Sons, Inc., San Diego, CA
First Place: Cementitious Overlays, Over 5,000 SF

The new LEGO Movie World is a themed land featuring rides and attractions designed to bring the LEGO movie characters to life. The pavement design expresses the theme of the park, and is consistent with actual LEGO pieces. The colors had to be matched to LEGO’s official color system. This was achieved with a high strength, richly pigmented cementitious overlay over a 5-inch standard broom finish concrete to achieve the opaque, UV-resistant palette. The contractor also installed the integrally-colored pedestrian and fire lane stamped concrete with a running bond slate pattern.

Aloft Hotel

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:33:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Aloft Hotel, Sundek of San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
First Place: Cementitious Overlays, Under 5,000 SF

This pool deck spec included a custom design and colors to create a unique play area. The contractor prepped and installed classic texture colors in Tweed Gray, Varsity Blues, Vapor Trails and Ravishing Red to the pool deck and cabana for a bright, clean, and modern hardscape.

Rebecca Fuscardo Booth at Deco-Crete Expo

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:31:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Rebecca Fuscardo Booth at Deco-Crete Expo, Fuscardo Concrete, Weirton, WV
First Place: Concrete Artistry, Under 5,000 SF

The background of the piece is a textured mat slab with a geometric pattern cut and stained post pour. The peacock was ground in freehand using a 4” grinder with a V-blade and wasp followed by hand-stained UV acetone armor dyes to bring the piece to life. The geometric pattern was stained using an air brush and everything was sealed using D1 sealer.

Smith Mountain Lake Garage

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:28:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Smith Mountain Lake Garage, Decorative Concrete of Virginia, Lynchburg, VA
First Place: Decorative Resinous Coatings, Under 5,000 SF

The customer chose a brown, gray and black metallic epoxy to cover a cracked garage floor. An epoxy with a long pot life was selected to give the material plenty of time to flow together, producing distinct veins of color.

The Orchard

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:22:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
The Orchard, Wicked Kolors, Clarksville, TN
First Place: Multiple Applications, Under 5,000 SF

This customer requested a floor that he “would not see anywhere else.” The multi-step process was achieved via a trowel-mix overlay, metallic epoxy and a seamless urethane topcoat. The overlay was hand-textured, then grout lines were cut with a hand grinder. Newly created tiles were stained, and the logo was hand engraved. The overlay was then flood-coated with 100% epoxy and six colors of epoxy were dropped. Finally, the entire floor was given a urethane topcoat.

Fruitport Community School High School Addition & Renovation

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:19:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Fruitport Community School High School Addition & Renovation, Burgess Concrete Construction, Moline, MI
First Place: Polished Concrete & Overlays, Over 5,000 SF

The scope of work included a school logo inlay, cast-in-place benches, and a kidney-shaped platform. This project extended over three years and all pours needed to blend together to match 43,000 SF of existing floors, benches, and walls.

Phaze Concrete Office Lobby

rzuellig — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 17:09:00 GMT

2022 DCC Award Winner
Phaze Concrete Office Lobby, Phaze Concrete, Cedar City, UT
First Place: Polished Concrete & Overlays, Under 5,000 SF

White concrete for the stairs and landing was locally sourced, and included crushed marble sand and aggregate, and white Portland cement. The landing and stair treads were seeded with Mother of Pearl decorative aggregate, white and black glass, and hand ground and honed. The 30” column was hand polished and dyed black to replicate polished steel. The floor was ground to a heavy aggregate exposure and polished with scoring and dye to create a traffic flow from the stairs to the hallways.