This innovative material produces concrete elements that are up to 10 times stronger than conventional concrete. The UHP C possesses unprecedented flexural strength, allowing for finer, thinner, lighter and more elegant designs. The chemistry is cutting edge while still embracing the natural qualities of concrete.

The studio is focused on landscape elements, furniture and architectural spaces through the design and fabrication of custom commissions. The design practice is engaged in construction and fabrication projects for residential, institutional and commercial applications – from urban site furniture to surfaces and screen walls - from bathtubs and sinks to fireplaces to tables - from corporate and institutional interiors to exterior building elements.

Fine Concrete is a visionary design studio harnessing the potential of Ductal®, a patented Ultra High Performance Concrete, exploring new technologies in fabrication for production oriented architectural elements and urban furniture.

SELECTED WORKS:

606

Bloomingdale Trail -  A 3-mile urban intervention on a previously abandoned elevated railway line in Chicago connects through diverse cultural neighborhoods.  Designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates and working with Landscape Forms, Fine Concrete fabricated a series of ultra high performance concrete benches whose differing types combined to create spaces for inhabitation - vibrant gathering places and contemplative retreats from the city.

open grounds

Designed in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President for Research, at the University of Virginia, we fabricated a series of interlocking and rolling tables and bases that could programmatically adapt to a wide variety of uses. combining metal as formwork, and revealing the formwork as surface we produced a new material where process and product are indistinguishable. 

ACAC

NORTH BRANFORD, CT

LANDSCAPE TABLE

TULSA

Collaborating with Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, we provided design delegated
elements for A Gathering Place for Tulsa, a multimillion dollar landscape project for the
city of Tulsa’s riverfront. Two perforated tunnels emerge from the ground to connect
playgrounds and skate parks. Envisioned by MVVA’s team to stitch together separate
areas of the park, they are the first fabrication in North America using stainless steel fibers within the Ductal® design mix. Silman Associates, structural engineers, are part of our team to achieve the lyrical design with amazing structural capabilities. Scheduled to open in 2018, we are excited to be part of this creative process.

HUNTING VALLEY

Affectionately known as The Nest, we designed the formwork for the Ductal® bench to
be cast as one single monolithic element with varying degree of texture as conceived by
RDAI. Working with this Paris architectural firm and the Boston landscape team of Reed
Hilderbrand, the bench and table sit within a specially constructed wooden lattice. The
German fabrication firm of shipped the lattice to the site and our pieces were oriented to
take advantage of the topography for the quiet viewing of the migration of the small
endangered bird, the babcock. The private estate features works by Andy Goldsworthy,
Richard Serra, Sol Lewitt, and Ursula von Rydingsvard, among others. It was an
amazing fabrication and unique opportunity to engage the landscape on such a
personal scale.

14th & corcoran

Ultra High Performance Concrete building elements were selected as the solution for unprecedented spans in a high rise mixed-use development in Washington D.C. Thin elements with long structural spans were achieved using no internal structural support. This resulted in durability never before achieved in similar building elements, as the freeze-thaw process is not a concern of UHPC. With a custom integral color and design matrix, we cast sills and lintels using the technologies best adapted for repetitive casting. 

PING PONG

PIER 17

South Street Seaport is the site of a new multiuse building by SHoP Architects and
James Corner Field Operations. We were selected to fabricate a series of UHPC
benches and tables for the outdoor public terraces on the East River. Tall individual
seats line up to look out over the waterfront while unique groups of benches are
grouped for conversation. The extreme cantilevers were only possible with the flexural
properties of Ultra High Performance Concrete. We fabricated the benches and attached the hardwood and galvanized steel seats in our shop in Virginia for delivery of fully assembled units to the site, making the install possible within a very tight deadline.

live arts

Working with the high profile design firm, Bushman Dreyfus, we designed a floating stair for an avant garde and creative theater lobby. The elegant simplicity of the design took advantage of the performance characteristics of Ultra High Performance Concrete. The combination of high traffic needs dictating superior durability and the floating quality of the stairways was only possible with this proprietary concrete formulation. 

PIPPIN HILL

The landscape of Virginia is populated with Vineyards and Tasting rooms. Working from a master plan by Francois Goffinet and a design by Pete O’Shea, O'Shea + Wilson Siteworks, the water troughs and transverse connections were envisioned as soothing elements encountered in the landscape. Large molds were fabricated then the precast troughs were moved to the site, connecting existing hydraulic systems and inventing new possibilities for interaction. 

VCU

STARR HILL BREWERY

MORE WORK COMING SOON >>>

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SEE ALSO RESEARCH >>>

fabrication

We are complex mold makers, fabricating wood or fiberglass molds by hand or with a CNC router.  For high production line pieces, we fabricate welded steel molds or cast high-density rubber master molds. We are artists and craftsman in the shop or on the computer. For prototyping designs, we can produce 3-D prints of 3 dimensional pieces or one-to-one scale models in steel, wood or high-density foam.

colors

We have a specialized palette of integral pigments that are cast within the concrete. We have an extensive library of custom color samples keyed to formulas for repetitive and precise fabrication. All pigments are color-fast to withstand environmental conditions.

casting

Our proprietary casting method is precisely followed during the mixing and pouring sequence. Depending on the mix design and integral color, we batch and test to assure consistency and performance capabilities.

finishING

We have a craftsman’s eye for fine finish. The degree of polish depends on the application or needs of the project.  Diamond-impregnated wet polishing systems achieve a super smooth finish and sandblasting yields differing surface textures. Glass or other aggregates are honed, metals or other materials are inlaid, or we emboss the surface of the concrete with intricate detail. Sealers are formulated for durability.

THE STUDIO

The studio, Fine Concrete, is focused on landscape elements, furniture and architectural spaces through the design and fabrication of custom commissions. The design practice is engaged in construction and fabrication projects for residential, institutional and commercial applications – from urban site furniture to surfaces and screen walls - from bathtubs and sinks to fireplaces to tables - from corporate and institutional interiors to exterior building elements. Fine Concrete is a leader in the cutting edge design and material science aspects of concrete exploring the new technologies available to fabrication for production oriented architectural elements and urban furniture. Whatever the scale, the studio designs objects that are sensuous and seductive, transforming raw materials in unexpected ways, combining the uniqueness of the handmade with the precision of new technologies. 

ALEXANDER KITCHIN

Alexander Kitchin was educated at the University of Virginia and Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc). He is a Fellow
in Architecture at the American Academy in Rome in 2001/2002 and a recipient of a Graham Foundation grant for the investigation into design and research in concrete.

Alexander teaches a design studio at the University of Virginia exploring the ways architects approach design and product development, and investigating the character inherent in materials and how the process of making informs the spaces we design. He has taught studios at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan.

As the founder of the firm and as a leading designer in concrete furnishings, Alexander brings to the firm over 25 years of experience in architecture and advanced digital and analog formwork and concrete
casting techniques. He is an expert in concrete design mixes, in Ultra High Performance Concrete fabrications, and in translating design intent into realities of form and space.

nicole sherman

Nicole Sherman graduated from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University with a degree in Russian and Eastern European Studies. She studied Russian Language at
Columbia University Language Institute. A daughter of an award- winning architect, she and her husband, Bill Sherman, founded William Sherman and Associates; her focus being the operation and financial dealings of the ten-person architecture firm. Also at this time, Nicole founded Softhardwear and NicoleNoelle, publishing two books on jewelry design and exhibiting in galleries and stores on the east coast.

In 2008, Nicole joined the firm and established a new partnership, Fine Concrete, specializing in custom casting and production lines for the urban landscape. She is an expert in product design and development, manufacturing systems and implementation.

In 2012, Alexander and Nicole established the first material research studio with Ductal®, Ultra High Performance Concrete, a collaboration with LaFarge North America, the University of Virginia and their firm, Fine Concrete. The firm continues to research and explore the ways in which Ultra High Performance Concrete intersects the design worldwith new and innovative castings.

Ductal® 
Ultra High Performance Concrete

Fine Concrete, LLC is one of a select group of firms in the United States holding a sub-license to design and fabricate with Ductal®, an ULTRA HIGH PERFORMANCE CONCRETE.

This innovative material produces concrete elements that are up to 10 times stronger than conventional concrete. The UHPC possesses unprecedented flexural strength, allowing for finer, thinner, lighter and more elegant designs. The chemistry is cutting edge while still embracing the natural qualities of concrete.

Characteristics of Ductal®

DUCTAL® is fiber-reinforced and has tensile strength, unlike conventional concrete. It achieves this engineering feat by progressively absorbing the energy applied and efficiently dispersing it throughout the matrix. These mechanical properties make it possible to create very slender structures with little or no passive steel reinforcement.

DUCTAL® is self-consolidating with microfine aggregates that make it extremely dense with less porosity, offering resistance to scratching and staining. This super fine design matrix also produces a surface capable of intricate detail with unlimited surface textures, finishes and colors.

DUCTAL® is a sustainable material that uses less energy to manufacture and substantially less water in the fabrication of the elements. There is no off-gassing. Ductal® offers many LEED certification credits.

DUCTAL® owes its innovative character to its exceptional mechanical performance, in particular its resistance to compression and bending, its creep and shrinkage behavior, and its fire-resistance.

Basic Property Comparisons

Performance Specifications

The table below indicates the material’s general performance values which are obtained in the test procedures specified in the UHPC recommendations.

Compressive Behavior

Ductal® exhibits excellent performance in compressions: It is 4 to 8 times higher than conventional concretes. Compression behavior is almost linear elastic up to the maximum stress and exhibits no damage to the material during this phase. Stress curve – deformation for a sample of Ductal® with metallic fibers.

Shrinkage and Creep

Shrinkage and creep are probably the most remarkable properties of Ductal®. Creep tests have been carried out in France at the Ecole Centrale de Nantes and at the Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées (LCPC) and in the United States at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Research Center in McLean, Virginia, USA.

For ordinary concrete, the creep coefficient can reach 3-4; for high-performance concrete, this is reduced but the recorded deformation remains higher than the elastic deformation. The creep coefficient of Ductal® is less than 0.8, and if a heat treatment is applied, the creep factor is less than 0.2, as shown in the figure below. As a rule, a value of 0.3 is considered for calculations.

Since the water to cement ratio is very low, Ductal® does not exhibit drying shrinkage. An endogenous shrinkage is observed (300 to 400 μm/m), but when heat treatment is applied, shrinkage is complete by the end of the treatment and there is no subsequent residual shrinkage, as shown in the figure below.

Bending Behavior of Ductal®

Ductal® with metallic fibers contains 2% by volume of metallic fibers, or more than 50 million metallic fibers per cubic meter. The fibers give the material a ductile behavior during bending (i.e., when loaded in flexure behond the elastic limit, micro-cracks occur and the fibers hold the cracks tightly closed, providing a ductile performance rather than a sudden or brittle failure) as shown in the following graph.

The ductility behavior observed during bending is characterized by a multiple cracks before the stress peaks, without localization and without the presence of any major cracks.

Fatigue Behavior

Fatigue tests on pre-loaded test samples were carried out at the CSTB. The loading applied was between 10 and 90% of the elastic limit. The figure below shows a crack opening displacement curve in relation to the number of cycles. Note: There is no increase in the crack opening, i.e. no crack propagation, at 1.2 million cycles.

Analysis of the rate of increase of the deflection in relation to the number of cycles shows that the loading applied is below the material’s threshold of endurance. When calculating the design of structures subjected to fatigue action-effects, the service stress is limited to the material’s resistance to direct tension. The results presented above verify that the application of the UHPC rule is particularly reliable in the case of Ductal® products with metallic fibers.

Behavior Under Fire

Ductal® materials are classed as “M0” (non-flammable). A specific formulation, Ductal®-AF has been developed for improved fire resistance. This formulation uses metallic fibers, to which organic fibers are added. ISO 834 fire-resistance tests on loaded and non-loaded columns and beams have been carried out at the Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (CSTB – Marne-La-Vallée) and at VTT in Finland. These tests have demonstrated the material’s excellent resistance and near total absence of spalling. The photo below shows a column before and after the ISO fire test.

Material properties at high temperatures
The characterization of Ductal® at high temperatures was carried out at CSTB in Grenoble, at SFC in France, at the University of Braunschweig in Germany, at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy, and at Imperial College London in the UK. A summary of the results is given below.

Evolution of the resistance under compression according to temperature
Compressive tests at high temperatures were carried out on test samples of Ductal®. Some of the tests were carried out on samples after cooling having been maintained at a given temperature T: so-called ‘residual’ tests. Some of the test samples were tested at the constant temperature T: so-called ‘hot’ tests.The figure below shows all the results. We can see that the results obtained are almost all higher than the “DTU Feu” (French fire safety standard) curve specified for HPCs (extension of the “DTU Feu” for HPCs between 60 and 80 MPa).This standard DTU curve can therefore be used for calculating the fire resistance of structures in Ductal®.