Materials studies for 1125 Market facades focused on options for the form and textures of the precast facades, which included bullnose shaped frames.
There are many options for adding texture to precast concrete facade panels. For 1125 Market factors such as cost, aesthetics, and procurability were considered.
The radiused bull-nose edges of the polished concrete of Caruso St John’s Europalle Baufled E Zurich - an inspiration for Leong Leong.
Options for influencing the form and texture of concrete using a ‘master mold’ with movable blocks.
Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects use a smooth-formed cast in place concrete on the Congregation Beth Sholom.
Texturing the concrete surface with formliners (like those used on David Adjaye’s Sugar Hill Development, shown left) was studied as an option.
Formliners can be used to achieve the hammered aesthetic. Formliner materials can influence the cost as well as the appearance of the concrete.
The Barbican in London has a fractured rib texture that was created via bush-hammering concrete that had been poured into ribbed moulds.
Other areas - often interiors - of the Barbican feature a flat surface that was bush-hammered after curing.
The fractured-rib texture on this precast concrete panel was achieved with a formliner. Today this is a more common approach to achieving this aesthetic.
A variety of formliners are available, with different companies offering different patterns. Rekli is one such company that specialises in formliners for architectural concrete.
These precast samples from Willis Construction are of white architectural concrete with black flecks added for dimension. This color concrete was used on the Broad Museum in LA.
A mock-up exploring different Rekli moulds. The desired effect in this case was for a board-formed pattern. Different depths of wood grain were studied and compared.