Cheng Design Completes Its First Concrete Home MENLO PARK, CA—Nestled at the end of a Northern California suburban cul-de-sac, Cheng Design’s first completed concrete home stately sits. The award-winning design firm has designed several homes from the ground up, but House 6 is the first finished project to uniquely use a concrete casting system that creates both structure and special …
Rock Solid Revolution
I blame the Soviets for giving concrete a bad name. Cold War-era photos showed us formerly graceful cities — Warsaw, Berlin, Saint Peterburg, Havana — blighted by block after relentless block of featureless concrete buildings that defined Iron Curtain chic. So how did this dependable but drab material make the leap from cinderblocks and driveways to stylish interior surfaces in …
A Timeless, Modern Space
A seven-foot-wide, bronze pivot door opens up to reveal the custom universe and hillside forest of this recently completed 6,000 s.f. Carmel Hills tour-de-force home. Upon entering this home, the first thing one senses is the shimmer and soothing sound of moving water. Then, as the eyes gaze upward to take in the thirty-foot high vaulted ceilings, a steel staircase …
A Glass Act
The low-slung, contemporary homes built in California in the middle of the last century set the precedent for indoor-outdoor living in the U.S. One example is this 1960 house in Orinda, whose owners have lived there 43 years. In 1971 they expanded it and redid the kitchen. But three decades later, as the garden matured along with their tastes, they …
Design Awards Honor Concrete Projects
Cheng Concrete Exchange, an online resource and directory providing building professionals, designers, homeowners, and do-it-yourselfers with training, design ideas, business opportunities, and a complete line of concrete countertop products, has announced the winners of its third annual Members’ Circle of Distinction Design Challenge. the contest, open exclusively to members of the Exchange, received a total of 77 submissions, which were …
Rock, Wood, Glass and Concrete: Innovative Options for Countertops
When designing a kitchen, one of the biggest decisions you make concerns the material you select for your countertops. Start with your style and how you function in your kitchen. Then consider appearance, durability and of course, expense. Here are some exciting choices available today.
Concrete Bathrooms
The bathroom is an intimate room, not a place for cold, hard edges. So why is concrete increasingly used in bathrooms? “Concrete can be sculpted and shaped to work ergonomically with the human body, which is important for a bathroom…” – Fu-Tung Cheng, Cheng Design. Combine concrete’s beautiful forms with comfortable utility and concrete becomes an obvious material of choice.
CHENG Concrete Awards Honor the Best in Concrete Countertop Design
CHENG Concrete Exchange announced the winners of its third annual Members’ Circle of Distinction Design Challenge at World of Concrete 2007. Leading the pack was Eric Boyd of Reaching Quiet Design, Charlotte, NC, who took “Best of Show” honors at the Las Vegas, NV ceremony. The industry’s only concrete countertop design competition received 77 submissions, which were culled down to …
Phoenix Rising
The couple who own this Spanish mission-style stucco-clad home in California, US, had just wanted to replace their leaky roof. But during the demolition process, they realized that they were not in love with their architect’s design. “I liked the architect’s work, but I wanted a special house, one that more uniquely reflected my taste and style. His work is …
Why Concrete?
Concrete is an extraordinary material that is practical, expressive, and aesthetic all at once. From a primal and formless slurry, you can transform concrete into virtually any shape that becomes a solid mass. The possibilities for creative expression are endless. You can grind, polish, stamp, or stain it. You can embed meaningful objects within it. Concrete has substance and mass, …