CD Designs Blog
Black is Back
Charcoal coloured pathway
Black has long been the colour of elegance and simplicity. In fashion, the black suit or tuxedo is the standard formal attire for men, and for women the black dress is regularly seen on red carpets and catwalks. Designer Karl Lagerfeld was once quoted as saying “Black is the color that goes with everything. If you’re wearing black, you’re on sure ground”. The same is true outside of fashion, and black is increasingly being used for interior and exterior decorating. White walls and black furniture is often considered a ‘modern’ look, and the contrast between black and other colours looks beautiful, adds drama and never goes out of style.
A good example of how we use black to contrast other features is a driveway we installed in Blackpool in 2011, as shown in the photo above. We used our charcoal colour on the whole of the front drive and side path leading to the front door, and in contrast with the white walls, doorway and gravel, the black concrete gives a stylish and sophisticated look. We also use charcoal for our McDonald’s and KFC drive-thru’s. We are finding that more and more customers are choosing black for their pattern imprinted concrete driveways.
Post Date: | 25th March 2013 |
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Tags: | Blackpool, Charcoal, concrete art, Driveway Design, pattern imprinted concrete driveway |
Get The UK Concrete Show App
The UK Concrete Show 2013 App
Last week we told you that we would be appearing at the UK Concrete show this year. The show is now underway, and is an estimated 80% bigger than last years, and with this in mind the organisers have created an app for smartphones to help guide people around. It will be especially useful for those of you already at or planning on going to the show, but even if you’re not, it still contains lots of interesting information about the concrete industry.
To download the app, simply follow this link to the show’s website, then scroll down and select your phone type. The rest of the process is the same as with downloading any other app. For those without smartphones, a desktop version is also available.
The app has lots of information about the show, including a full event schedule, speaker listings, social networking tools, a complete info booth and lots more. You can find us on the app by going to ‘Exhibitors’ then searching for ‘CD Designs’ in the A-Z tab, or in the ‘Pattern Imprinted Concrete’ section under Products tab.
Post Date: | 28th February 2013 |
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Tags: | Birmingham, Complete Driveway Designs, Elite Crete, NEC, Smartphone App, World of Concrete |
New Drive-thru Contracts
Concrete Being Pumped
Although the majority of the pattern imprinted concrete work that we do is on driveways and patios, we have also done more commercial installations with our McDonald’s and KFC drive-thru’s, which you can see in our case studies section here. We are delighted to announce that we have just won the contracts to supply and fit the concrete for two more McDonald’s Drive-Thru restaurants, one in Nottingham and the other in Audenshaw.
All Hands On Deck!
These specialist jobs require a slightly different specification in terms of the size, materials used and techniques employed, but the basic principles are exactly the same. The extra load that a drive-thru gets requires that the concrete is 50% thicker, and a steel mesh is employed within the concrete to further strengthen it. The concrete itself is exactly the same consistency as we use for domestic driveways, and it is imprinted and finished in exactly the same manner.
Work on the Nottingham drive-thru was started on Friday, and as you can see in the photos is going very well. We will have a full case study for you to look at once the job is complete. We start work on the Audenshaw project in March.
Post Date: | 18th February 2013 |
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Tags: | Audenshaw, Drive-Thru, driveway case studies, KFC, McDonald's, Nottingham, pattern imprinted concrete |
UK Concrete Show 2013
UK Concrete Show 2012
It seems that it’s convention season at the moment, at least when it comes to concrete. With The World of Concrete Convention in Las Vegas just finishing, attention turns to this side of the pond with The UK Concrete Show. The event is due to take place at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham, on the 27th and 28th of February, and in case you were wondering, Complete Driveway Designs will be there!
We will be sharing a stand with Elite Crete, one of our major suppliers. Our stand is over to the far left of the NEC, just next to the first seminar room, so if you’re planning on going to the convention, please come and say hello. We will be showcasing many of the products we use, and generally using the opportunity to network with as many customers and people in the industry as possible. We hope to liase with lots of architects and specifiers in order to demonstrate and promote the decorative and pattern imprinted concrete industry.
The NEC is the largest convention centre in the UK, and the seventh biggest in Europe. This year’s show boasts an 80% increase in size from lasts year’s, having over 200 exhibitions with themes including ‘Beautiful Concrete’ and ‘Advances In Cement Technology’. We hope that our contribution to the show will both inform and entertain the many thousands of visitors to the exhibition. You can still register for a free ticket via the official website here.
Post Date: | 11th February 2013 |
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Tags: | Birmingham, Complete Driveway Designs, Elite Crete, NEC, World of Concrete |
London Aquatics Centre
Aerial View of the London Aquatics Centre
Last year we looked at the environmental impact of the London 2012 Olympics in this blog and this blog, in regards to the concrete usage. Here we take a look at the concrete design aspects, focusing on the design for the Aquatics Centre.
The building was designed by Zaha Hadid who, like Oscar Niemeyer is a previous Pritzker Architecture Prize winner. As you can see from the above image, her designs are very futuristic, characterized by the ‘powerful, curving forms of her elongated structures’, according to The New York Times. This is examplified in the design for the diving platforms, which where constructed using 462 tonnes of concrete. In the video below, you can see how they were made and what they look like.
During the Olympics the Aquatic Centre could hold 17,500 people, but this was with the two temporary ‘wings’ that you can see on the photo. Work is being done to remove the wings and create a regular capacity of 2,500, with a further 1000 available for special events. This work will be completed in 2014 when it will be opened to the public. Of the many swimming venues built for the games, the London Aquatics Centre is the only one that will remain afterwards.
Post Date: | 1st February 2013 |
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Tags: | aquatics centre, concrete design, London, olympics, Zaha Hadid |