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Move cement-based surfacing and furnishings applications from the industrial zone to the green belt with a poured composite you can customize to your specs.
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By Mary Scoviak
Get rid of your post-industrial complexes. New cement-based composites such as Meld USA's ecoX are deconstructing the limitations that relegated decorative concrete to well-supported counter tops and exhibition hall floors. EcoX's use of admixtures, reinforcement technology and lightweight fillers trims nearly 30 pounds per cubic foot off the 155- to 160-pound per cubic foot average weight of ready-mix concrete. That's enough to shake up staid thinking on what makes exciting sinks, soaking tubs, indoor/outdoor furniture, table tops and even pendant lighting.
"We like cool," says Michael Bustin, vice president and coo for Raleigh, N.C.-based Meld USA. "So we collaborate with design firms to bring their vision and their client's to reality. If a designer wants to blend ecoX with other materials, we'll find a way to make that happen-as long as it makes economic sense and preserves the integrity of the design."
The aggregate in ecoX is 100 percent recycled glass. While glass introduces depths of color and textural contrast, Bustin says it's just a starting point as a mix-in. Think about pushing the envelope by combining concrete with stainless steel, copper shavings, bamboo shards, mirror pieces, mica or wood.
"You have to remember that different materials have different rates of thermal expansion. The stresses and forces exerted on one or both [the concrete and the added material] due to temperature fluctuations could cause cracks or fractures. The same holds true for substances affected by liquids. They can swell or shrink, which also could cause irregular stresses on the concrete. But that's the exception. In most cases custom parts or products can be fabricated to make the design work," Bustin adds.
Since ecoX is made to order, designers are free to define not only the basic specs but the texture and finish. They're sweeping it into curves and honing it into counters that are just 1.5 inches thick, a level that could cause failure in ready-mix.
Bustin says 20- or 24-inch square and 12-by-24-inch rectangular ecoX tiles are being used for wall and floor treatments in public spaces, eateries and guest bathrooms. "For more impact, consider creating new shapes for the floor tiles or working with varied shapes. Then both the tile and the grout lines heighten the visual impact," he says.
Changing and blending textures add sculptural interest to flat areas. EcoX can be polished to a mirror finish or sealed with high-gloss coatings to add shine or buffed for a casual matte look. Its sensual side is customizable as well, whether crafted to a silky smoothness or left rough and raw.
Meld USA's next step in expanding concrete's versatility will be a line of resin-based, resilient recycled glass terrazzo floor tiles to complement ecoX's 12 standard colors. Also on the horizon is a geo-ceramic product made with safe, food-grade substances.
Bustin contends that this new Portland-cement free alternative will weather better than hydraulic cement because of its inherent freeze/thaw resistance, and will be able to withstand higher temperatures without cracking. Like the current ecoX line, it will be pure, green and manufactured in a process that reduces waste. "The trend now is toward innovative minimalist design elements with a functional backbone. But designers will always want to experiment," Bustin says.
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