In August 2011, we were asked to undertake one our most exiting projects to date.  We were approached by Seddon (G&J Seddon Ltd) to create a dragon style playground at St. George’s Primary School, Barrow-In-Furness.

The playground is in the shape of a dragon with its body and tail wrapping around the playground, which was the easy part.  The path leading to the playground which incorporates the dragon’s footprints was the hard part, especially trying to get the dragon to walk in a straight line.

All the hard work and effort was more than worth it, and the pupils of the school were overwhelmed with their new playground.  Head teacher Mrs Kent said: “It’s a privilege to watch them mesmerized by the view.  One pupil said “It’s like something from a holiday brochure”, it adds another dimension.”

These pictures show the final result, but over the course of the next few months we will be showing you from start to finish how we tackled the project…….so stay tuned!

We’ve also been very active on our blog this year, publishing a wide variety of articles covering everything from practical tips and tricks for pattern imprinted concrete, to weird and wonderful concrete design work from designers the world over.

We’d like to thank everyone involved in our success this year – all the staff at CD Designs, everyone who helped promote us, and of course, all the customers who put their trust in us to do a good job of adding concrete creativity to their homes, offices and other locations.

Cheers.

We look forward to working with you again in 2012!

Therefore, we’d like to ask you to send in your ideas to us! Have you developed an innovative new sealing technique for pattern imprinted concrete driveways? Or an exciting alternative colouring or acid staining method? Are you an eco warrior armed with tips for making concrete installations more environmentally friendly, or have you discovered a really great new product you’d like to recommend?

Alternatively, are you a mad inventor or designer who has built a concrete light aircraft, or a herd of brightly coloured concrete cows?

Whatever the case, we’d love to hear from you! If you are referencing an online article please use our contact form, otherwise send your text and images to info@northwest-driveways.co.uk. You should make sure your images are cut down in size (around 100-200KB is reasonable for a good enough quality photo), otherwise they will be rejected.

Note that, due to volume of submissions, not all items can be featured.

Dubbed Wahid, these units measure around a foot and a half square. They are made from moulded concrete with a wooden veneer inner layer, providing a delightful contrast between stark industrial function, and warm gentle texture.

Being square, you can arrange them effectively to make good use of pretty much any space you have available. They are multifunctional, useful for mounting on the wall for elevated storage, or stacking up off ground level. And their size makes them versatile for storing a wide variety of objects of different types, from living room items such as DVDs and records, to kitchen utensils and food items.

Let’s look at them a bit more closely.

Dik Scheepers has designed many beautiful and interesting bespoke items (see http://www.dikscheepers.nl/products), but on one occasion he was experimenting with Papercrete – a low-cost,  lightweight material often seen as being as an environmentally friendly concrete alternative because it is made largely using re-pulped paper fibre, and cuts down on the amount of cement needed in the mixture.

This experiment led to the creation of Dik’s UnPølished collection (see http://www.dikscheepers.nl/products/116-unpolished) – a series of items of furniture including a stool, coffee table, chair, writing desk and more. These items are formed from moulded papercrete atop smooth wooden legs and frames. We think they have a delightful alternative charm, standing on their own against the usual slew of highlight polished and straight lined furniture!

As a great example, look at the internationally acclaimed Dune tiles – these very unique creations will give a beautiful, unique and striking effect to any interior. And you can get them in a variety of different materials – why not consider combining concrete tiles with gypsum, wood, or others?

And Daniel Ogassian has a fantastic concrete tile range, available in a wide variety of colours, sizes and shapes, each one individually machine crafted. Check out some of his designs, and just look at the way he uses geometric shapes, interlocking patterns and fantastic textures to create some really breathtaking effects. He also customises them to order, customer by customer, so you you could call on Daniel to give you just the tiles you need!

Johan Forsberg is a very talented Swedish designer with a lot of experience in making beautiful and exciting designs with concrete! Most notably, his fantastic concrete clocks and tables have turned many heads in the industrial design and interior design worlds. In this article we will look more closely at some of Johan’s work.

You can see his products at http://forsbergform.se/produkter/: the language is Swedish, but even if you don’t read Swedish, the pictures speak for themselves!

First of all, his amazing clocks – like Tidvus and Urbild – are quirky, beautiful and entrancing. They would grace any living room or drawing room like a wistful silent guardian, watching over the scene with a stare that tells a great tale. Their clean, minimalist look belies their design perfection.

Second, his tables tread a fine line between glorious simplicity and utility. Most of them are based on wooden or stainless steel legs and frame, with a concrete top. Some of them are a single piece, and some feature carefully crafted pieces of concrete in different pigments, for a segmented look.

This is echoed in much of his work:

• His thin walled cast concrete pendant lamps are sure to give a beautiful classy look to any kitchen, living room, or other interior area.
• His thin walled cast concrete wall lamps add another beautiful option to your interior design choices.
• His thin walled cast concrete desk light is a masterpiece to behold, with a walnut/oak arm and aluminium details. Brighten up your work environment!

Benjamin’s team take a high degree of care over craftsmanship and process, and deal with a wide range of clients and products from one offs to mass produced items. Benjamin has received critical acclaim internationally, and a number of awards including:

• Design of the year (British Design awards 2010)
• Best Product (100% design/Blueprint awards 2009)
• Homes and Gardens Young Designer of the Year (Design Classic Awards 2010)
• EDIDA International Young Designer of the Year 2010

Give them the gift of concrete.

“What?” I hear you cry. “I want love, warmth and joy. You’re making my Christmas sound like a holiday in a car park.”

Fear not! If you’ve been reading our blog for any length of time, you’ll have already seen some of the really interesting and beautiful concrete innovations created by designers the world over. In this article we’ll share a few of the best concrete Christmas gift ideas we could come up with.

1. Concrete is the perfect material for any usage requiring heat resistance, therefore why not treat one of your loved ones to a stylish concrete tea light holder or candlestick

2. How about an awesome concrete pencil, for all those heavy words and pictures of wisdom? Read all about them in our concrete pens article.

3. A concrete light will really help to brighten up your christmas – look at these concrete pendent lights available from Heals.

4. There is also a beautiful range of concrete jewellery available, from various designers such as 22 design studio and Frances Smersh.

5. If you are not looking for tactile side of concrete then Duncan Green’s latest collection of photo prints (found at duncangreen.co.uk) may be for you. Concrete I, Concrete II and Concrete III highlight the durability of concrete and question our perceptions of man made items within nature.