This house designed by Patkau Architects and built by Rannala Freeborn was one of our favourite construction sites to work on. The owners were complete gems and share a mutual love of our favourite medium. Concrete was utilized for all the bathrooms in the house, the fireplace hearth, dog bath and the basement flooring. All the concrete was provided by Butler Concrete, a low aggregate mix was chosen to keep the exposure to a bare minimum. To maintain a minimalist vibe, the grinding and polishing needed to be done slowly, starting with the lightest grit possible. Transitions to all the other flooring materials were near flush, good planning = great execution.
This unique powder room is not as understated as the rest of the house. Inspired by the owners profession as a astrophysicist, the ceiling lights are meant to look like stars and the floor has silver plated glass cast into the concrete to fit the same theme. Ardex k520 with Ti02 and a small amount of blue dye was used as the base colour. Careful attention was made to the floor prep, all cracks were chased and filled with a specialized urethane. The concrete was polished to 800 grit and sealed with two coats of microfilm. The lighting details are quite over the top, and automated.
