While many of us might view concrete
as just another construction material, for
designer FuTung Cheng it’s so much more.
“Of course it can function entirely as
a structural material, but for me it’s also a
means of expression,” he says.
“It imitates anything you press against
it – rough or smooth. I use it with integral
colour and texture, so it becomes a lot
more expressive than any other material.”
That relish in the versatility of con-
crete is apparent in his design of the home
featured here, a 560m 2 family home on a
4000m 2 suburban site. The house itself is a
cluster of five distinct structures – the two-
storey main house, office, guest house,
meditation centre and the garage.
“I didn’t want it to be a single mono-
lithic structure that felt overwhelming or
out of scale,” he says.
Cheng’s aesthetic approach to concrete
helps mark out the different elements on
the front facade, with a double-storey wall
of textured, board-formed concrete used
on the main house, while the single storey
office is in smooth-faced concrete.
Previous pages: Designer FuTung Cheng combined
board-formed and fair-faced concrete with
reclaimed redwood cladding to help define the five
structures that make up this 560m 2 family home.
Facing page: The structural column at the entrance
was created on site by pouring concrete into a
polyester tube and then ‘pinching’ it to give it its
smooth, sinuous shape. The concrete wall leading
up to the front door was formed with a crevice
that weeps water to develop a natural green wall.
Above: 38cm-thick concrete walls create a heat sink,
reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling.
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