The 2010 Concrete Decor Show & Decorative Concrete Spring Training kicked off March 16 in Phoenix with a breakfast reception and keynote address by award-winning designer Fu- Tung Cheng and renowned architect Will Bruder.
Attendees of the first annual show were treated to a unique look at Cheng’s and Bruder’s visions of concrete design, which range in scope from details in kitchens to large-scale commercial and public projects. “We hope this conversation we have encases the idea that it’s the passion, the design that matters,” said Cheng.
Cheng highlighted several of his residential projects from throughout the course of his career, focusing on range of scale and sustainability. His career started with smaller items, such as sinks and hoods, which led to larger jobs such as remodeling rooms, then to designing entire homes.
However, the small-scale designs remain important. For example, Cheng has designed an entire home, but he has also designed a small mosaic found in a kitchen backsplash. He added that a current client hired him after seeing one of his countertops, and for that client, he is designing the largest project of his career.
Bruder, a Phoenix-based architect, focused on the power of concrete and its authenticity while keeping within the theme of scale.
“Concrete has the magic of its own soul,” he said.
Bruder has designed many homes and commercial businesses with concrete, many in a nontraditional way. For example, he was inspired to build a wall of a building with cement blocks, but rather than line them up perfectly even, he had cement masons place them randomly to highlight shadows. He also has built walls for a home by cobbling together concrete scraps headed for the dump.
For Bruder, concrete is about authenticity. “Concrete, if nothing else, is an authentic material,” he said. “Authenticity is what you should be pushing and selling to your clients.”
When asked about the future of concrete, Cheng said he sees the artist, not new technology, as key. “It grows here, in the hearts and minds of all of you here,” he said. “I see it as more of the growth and inspiration. The technology will grow … What are you doing with that material? It’s how you use it.”
