Whether the focus is color or texture, CEMEX specialty materials for architects can take customers’ designs to the next level.

Concrete is well known as a material for foundations, but what makes it unique is an incredible versatility that allows CEMEX to fulfill almost any kind of application in an array of colors, sizes, and textures. There’s a reason why world-renowned architects choose CEMEX concrete for their projects, beyond structural foundations. Forward-thinking urban designers have even incorporated the versatility of concrete into their developments and public spaces in ways that are creative and beautiful, satisfying both form and function.

“CEMEX's researchers at CRG are currently developing novel products and solutions in the category of architectural as well as decorative concretes,” said Davide Zampini, Head of the CEMEX Research Group in Switzerland. “Thus, a number of possibilities will be possible through the use of complementary and synergistic solutions.”

When a cross-town street in Friedland, a German town with lots of weekend traffic, had to be rehabilitated, a sustainable solution was provided using CEMEX ready-mix concrete. The existing stoplights were replaced with a roundabout to ease traffic, and a bright red color was incorporated into the design of the material to increase visibility. CEMEX provided a concrete that was capable of withstanding both the effects of de-icing salt in the winter, and high traffic in the summer, all while matching the color that the client desired.

“During this project, for the first time I found a concrete supplier who guaranteed the color of the ready-mix concrete,” said Dirk Dettweiler of TBH Dettweiler, our client responsible for the project. “Cooperation between the building site and the ready-mix concrete plant was excellent, so we were able to finish the project on time as scheduled.”

Just as concrete can be designed in a range of colors, it can also be imprinted with a range of textures, as was the case for another roundabout in Marseille, France. Special attention was paid to the pavements with the use of stone paving, decorative non-slip concrete and classic surfacing materials. Each of the materials, laid out in a succession of concentric circles, corresponds with a specific use, such as car or bus lane, with textured concrete in lighter colors for the footpaths, cycle paths and road crossings in order to encourage drivers to slow down naturally.

CEMEX's quarries in France supplied the aggregates required to make the 3,000 m² of concrete used in the project. A special mobile plant was set up to complete 2-3 rounds of pouring daily, some requiring ten ready-mix trucks in constant circulation. All car, bus and pedestrian traffic was uninterrupted for the four months of the project’s duration, not to mention that business continued as usual in neighboring shops.

The use of decorative concrete is a growing trend outside of Europe as well, with our team in Panama recently launching a new line of decorative concretes to service this market. As these two recent projects show, our high-end decorative materials can offer a range of styles for different projects, taking our customers’ designs from blueprint to reality.

CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries. Celebrating its 110th anniversary, CEMEX has a rich history of improving the well-being of those it serves through innovative building solutions, efficiency advancements, and efforts to promote a sustainable future.