Cheng Concrete Design Award Winners

Fu-Tung Cheng speaks about the Best in Show awards winner.

Fu-Tung Cheng awards the winner of Best in Show.

Cheng Concrete awarded Best in Show in its fifth annual Circle of Distinction Design Challenge to Keelin Kennedy and her Chicago-based firm, Barefoot Design.

Kennedy won for her “Carder Table,” a dining-room tabletop that features a ribbon of sassafras wood running through the center of the concrete.

At an awards announcement held at the 2009 World of Concrete show in Las Vegas, Cheng Concrete founder Fu-Tung Cheng praised the piece’s simplicity and beauty. “The craftsmanship is very elegant,” he said. “It’s letting the natural element come out. And the concrete is actually just acting as a foil for the log. It’s not trying to dominate it. It’s not trying to supplant it. It’s yielding to the wood. It’s such a nice contradiction it’s almost like stone and wood. It reminds me of how the Japanese use wood and meld it with stone for foundation work and such.”

Cheng was one of three judges of the contest, along with interior designers MaryJo Camp, CKD, CBD, CID, and Lilley Yee, CKD, CBD, CID, ASID. The panel awarded Best in Category and Honorable Mention distinctions in 12 categories.

Each qualifying entrant in the contest was a member of the Cheng Concrete Exchange, a resource group for concrete countertop crafters. There were 143 entries in this year’s contest.

www.chengconcrete.com
www.concreteexchange.com

Best of Show: Keelin Kennedy, Barefoot Design, Chicago, Ill. Dining room table for 10
Best of Show: Keelin Kennedy, Barefoot Design, Chicago, Ill.
Dining room table for 10

Fireplace: Eric Pottle, Surfaceworks AZ, Peoria, Ariz. Sand-colored floating hearth with toe kick
Fireplace: Eric Pottle, Surfaceworks AZ, Peoria, Ariz.
Sand-colored floating hearth with toe kick

Steve Silberman and Tommy Cook
“Funk”-tional feature: Steve Silberman and Tommy Cook, Absolute ConcreteWorks LLC, Poulsbo, Wash.
Hayvaz Project/countertops and backsplash for kitchen/espresso bar

Ian Wyndlow, Liquid Stone Studios
Sculpture: Ian Wyndlow, Liquid Stone Studios, Ladysmith, B.C.
Cubes for sink base, with gaps for lighting and plumbing

Furniture: Michael Littlefield, Melange Studio, Kennebunk, Maine  hair with formed concrete base and fitted piece of lucite on back
Furniture: Michael Littlefield, Melange Studio, Kennebunk, Maine
hair with formed concrete base and fitted piece of lucite on back

Bath: Jack Cooper, Jax Custom Surfaces Inc., Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif. Bath including double-basin vanity counter and shower panels
Bath: Jack Cooper, Jax Custom Surfaces Inc., Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.
Bath including double-basin vanity counter and shower panels

Exterior/Outdoor: Seth Ernsdorf, Ernsdorf Design Inc., Los Angeles, Calif. Outdoor coffee table/fire table with pebble and sand striation and vanilla bean finish
Exterior/Outdoor: Seth Ernsdorf, Ernsdorf Design Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.
Outdoor coffee table/fire table with pebble and sand striation and vanilla bean finish

Integral Sink: John Newbold, Newbold Stone Architectural Concrete, Austin, Texas Minimalist white sink with integrated towel holder
Integral Sink: John Newbold, Newbold Stone Architectural Concrete, Austin, Texas
Minimalist white sink with integrated towel holder

Decorative Finish: Sean Dunston, Concrete Jungle Design, Colorado Springs, Colo. Kitchen countertop with river of "creamsicle" colors
Decorative Finish: Sean Dunston, Concrete Jungle Design, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Kitchen countertop with river of “creamsicle” colors

Functional Feature: Sean Dunston, Concrete Jungle Design, Colorado Springs, Colo. Concrete stairs with decorative texture for slip resistance
Functional Feature: Sean Dunston, Concrete Jungle Design, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Concrete stairs with decorative texture for slip resistance

Commercial/Retail: Gabriela Sanchez-Vegas, Concreative4, Miami, Fla. Countertop for information desk at Dolphin Mall, Miami, Fla.
Commercial/Retail: Gabriela Sanchez-Vegas, Concreative4, Miami, Fla.
Countertop for information desk at Dolphin Mall, Miami, Fla.

Interior Kitchen: Sean Dunston, Concrete Jungle Design, Colorado Springs, Colo. Kitchen pieces (total weight: 3,775 pounds)
Interior Kitchen: Sean Dunston, Concrete Jungle Design, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Kitchen pieces (total weight: 3,775 pounds)

Water Feature: Randy Rand, Concrete Artisans, Milford, Maine Waterfall effect in sink
Water Feature: Randy Rand, Concrete Artisans, Milford, Maine
Waterfall effect in sink

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