Editorial team · Structure, Facades
InfoWeb Marketplace · Editorial team
Published on 23 July 2019 · 2 min read
Unibéton launches a new concrete finish in the style of "Pierre de Bordeaux" stone
InfoWeb Marketplace · Editorial teamPublished on 23 July 2019 · 2 min read
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bordeaux pays particular attention to its architectural and urban identity. The ?Bordeaux stone? that clads many façades across the metropolitan area is one of the hallmarks of the city. Unibéton is therefore launching a new concrete finish in the style of ?Bordeaux stone? for façade walls: DECOVOIL BURDIGALA.
For 5 years, two major new districts under construction have been vying for architectural originality: Ginko in the north of Bordeaux, near the lake, and Euratlantique in the south, behind the Saint-Jean station. Now nearly complete, these projects were the subject of a request from the City of Bordeaux that they be more firmly rooted in a heritage spirit, favouring stone cladding on the one hand, and the characteristic blond colour of ?Bordeaux stone? on the other.
To meet this requirement, Unibéton has developed an alternative to natural stone, easy to implement for any type of residential or commercial project.
Dominique Lacoste, Special Concrete Development Manager, Unibéton South West Region, explains: "In collaboration with GCP Applied Technologies, we designed a matrix reproducing the texture of ?Bordeaux stone?. Once this exclusive matrix was perfected, we worked on the formulation of a new concrete based on white cement from the Ciments Calcia plant in Cruas and aggregates extracted from the GSM quarry in Illats, to which we added a concrete pigment from GCP Applied Technologies to achieve the blond colour of ?Bordeaux stone?.
Besides its aesthetic value, DECOVOIL BURDIGALA is very practical to use: when preparing the formwork on site, simply position the matrix in the shuttering panels on the façade side, then pour the concrete and strip the forms. Each matrix can be reused around a hundred times with no deterioration. The architect can then choose to specify an anti-graffiti or water-repellent treatment, or leave the facing as is so that it weathers to grey, just as ?Bordeaux stone? would naturally.
An exclusive matrix and concrete to reproduce the look of ?Bordeaux stone? on façades
For 5 years, two major new districts under construction have been vying for architectural originality: Ginko in the north of Bordeaux, near the lake, and Euratlantique in the south, behind the Saint-Jean station. Now nearly complete, these projects were the subject of a request from the City of Bordeaux that they be more firmly rooted in a heritage spirit, favouring stone cladding on the one hand, and the characteristic blond colour of ?Bordeaux stone? on the other.
To meet this requirement, Unibéton has developed an alternative to natural stone, easy to implement for any type of residential or commercial project.
Dominique Lacoste, Special Concrete Development Manager, Unibéton South West Region, explains: "In collaboration with GCP Applied Technologies, we designed a matrix reproducing the texture of ?Bordeaux stone?. Once this exclusive matrix was perfected, we worked on the formulation of a new concrete based on white cement from the Ciments Calcia plant in Cruas and aggregates extracted from the GSM quarry in Illats, to which we added a concrete pigment from GCP Applied Technologies to achieve the blond colour of ?Bordeaux stone?.
DECOVOIL BURDIGALA, an addition to the DECOVOIL range of architectural concretes
Besides its aesthetic value, DECOVOIL BURDIGALA is very practical to use: when preparing the formwork on site, simply position the matrix in the shuttering panels on the façade side, then pour the concrete and strip the forms. Each matrix can be reused around a hundred times with no deterioration. The architect can then choose to specify an anti-graffiti or water-repellent treatment, or leave the facing as is so that it weathers to grey, just as ?Bordeaux stone? would naturally.
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