By Sterling Stout
Motlow Buzz Contributing Writer
We walk and drive on concrete every day, but most people don’t notice how concrete impacts other aspects of our lives. Concrete is diverse in the way you can mix, treat and apply it. In this article, I will inform you of lesser appreciated or lesser acknowledged ways that concrete has changed the lives of many. Whether it be through entertainment, safety or expression.
There are the basic uses for concrete that include sidewalks, building foundation, and general construction. We’ve all probably seen some form of concrete, and we could all agree: it’s not too exiting or interesting. It just seems very boring and bland. I mean, it hasn’t really been made to be something flashy or overly intriguing.
However, if you take a moment to look at concrete through a wider lens, you might just be impressed with the diversity of ways it can be implemented beyond just a foundation. I’ve experienced concrete in an array of different ways throughout my life. I’ve visited cities and viewed the construction of anti-homeless, concrete spikes. I’m an aspiring artist and have experimented with concrete as an art medium. I have been to many concrete skate parks, local and widely known. I have developed a new understanding and appreciation of concrete for what it is and what can be done with it. I’ve seen how it can change lives, and I hope to provide you with a new view of how concrete has affected many.
Skate Parks: More than a Slab:
Skateparks are an amazing example of how concrete can be used as a foundation and a main attraction. Not only are these places popular all around the world, but every single one of them is unique. Due to the massive sizes of the skateparks and all of the “ramps” and “bowls,” the molds are specifically made for the individual parks. The amount of time that it takes to create these parks is clearly trumped by the longstanding joy it provides to the people that gravitate to them. These parks have given a place for avid skateboarders to indulge in their hobby, away from the streets and to their fullest potential. This goes to show how concrete, while still in its most basic form, can be used to bring joy to a community.
I have personally been to “Two Rivers Skatepark” in Nashville, Tennessee. In a bustling city such as Nashville, it’s great to see that there is a concrete oasis for BMXers, roller bladders, and skate boarders alike. The people there love to enjoy their passions of skate boarding while also being off the streets in an exciting, unnatural skating environment. You can see images of the skate park and others at https://www.concretedisciples.com/skatepark-directory .
Concrete: Providing Safety to Many:
If you have ever seen those little pyramid-looking things under an overpass, then you’ve witnessed another abstract use of concrete. In many large cities and walking trails, you will see the incorporation of concrete spikes incorporated in lesser-seen areas of the architecture. These usually are observed under bridges, on the edges of some park sidewalks, and on some concrete benches. These are to deter homeless people from sleeping or hanging around those areas as the spikes are very uncomfortable and almost impossible to maneuver around. This is a way that concrete is being used abstractly to keep the citizens safe from homeless people that might be lurking under a bridge or sleeping on a bench. You can see some of these at http://www.chinahush.com/2012/07/05/building-cement-cones-under-highway-bridge-to-drive-out-homeless/
Art: Conveying Feeling Through Concrete:
One of my personal favorite uses for concrete, beyond the foundation, is art. So much can be done with concrete and one person to truly prove that is Henry Moore. He made many pieces of art throughout his life but made all of his concrete pieces between 1926 and 1934. He began to sculpt using concrete along side stone and wood. He took a liking to this new medium as it was very cheap at the time, and he was short on money. Not to mention, new buildings were being built, and he was hoping to get commissioned to do pieces that could be built as part of the structures. He very much enjoyed the different ways it could be shaped. It could be poured into a cast, molded when soft, and carved when solid. You can even add dyes into it to change its pigment, and incorporate it into or onto other items.
Henry Moore’s largest concrete piece is “Reclining Figure.” It depicts a woman lying on a concrete slab on her right arm and her left leg upright. The overall flow to the piece gives a strong sense of stability and balance. When creating the sculpture, he would add pigments at random to the still-wet concrete and not mix them uniform. The sections of red, brown and black pigments gave the end result a slightly more “stone-like” appearance. He had given the sculpture an internal metal framework to give it more support, but it can not be seen in the finished piece. The sculpture currently resides at the Saint Louis Art Museum. You can see more at https://www.slam.org/blog/moores-reclining-figure-returns-to-the-galleries/
These are just a few different ways in which concrete can be used besides in just construction. It can be used to keep skaters off the streets and in a fun environment. It can be used to keep the citizens of a city safe from the homeless population scattered about. It can be used in art to convey emotion, ideas, viewpoint and just be a general outlet for artistic passion. Honestly, it seems like today concrete just keeps becoming more advanced in the ways it’s manufactured, the ways it can be applied in construction, and even the ways it can be a part of our everyday lives. I am personally very exited to see what the future holds for concrete and what we have in store for it.
Concrete: Providing Safety to Many:
If you have ever seen those little pyramid-looking things under an overpass, then you’ve witnessed another abstract use of concrete. In many large cities and walking trails, you will see the incorporation of concrete spikes incorporated in lesser-seen areas of the architecture. These usually are observed under bridges, on the edges of some park sidewalks, and on some concrete benches. These are to deter homeless people from sleeping or hanging around those areas as the spikes are very uncomfortable and almost impossible to maneuver around. This is a way that concrete is being used abstractly to keep the citizens safe from homeless people that might be lurking under a bridge or sleeping on a bench. You can see some of these at http://www.chinahush.com/2012/07/05/building-cement-cones-under-highway-bridge-to-drive-out-homeless/
Art: Conveying Feeling Through Concrete:
One of my personal favorite uses for concrete, beyond the foundation, is art. So much can be done with concrete and one person to truly prove that is Henry Moore. He made many pieces of art throughout his life but made all of his concrete pieces between 1926 and 1934. He began to sculpt using concrete along side stone and wood. He took a liking to this new medium as it was very cheap at the time, and he was short on money. Not to mention, new buildings were being built, and he was hoping to get commissioned to do pieces that could be built as part of the structures. He very much enjoyed the different ways it could be shaped. It could be poured into a cast, molded when soft, and carved when solid. You can even add dyes into it to change its pigment, and incorporate it into or onto other items.
Henry Moore’s largest concrete piece is “Reclining Figure.” It depicts a woman lying on a concrete slab on her right arm and her left leg upright. The overall flow to the piece gives a strong sense of stability and balance. When creating the sculpture, he would add pigments at random to the still-wet concrete and not mix them uniform. The sections of red, brown and black pigments gave the end result a slightly more “stone-like” appearance. He had given the sculpture an internal metal framework to give it more support, but it can not be seen in the finished piece. The sculpture currently resides at the Saint Louis Art Museum. You can see more at https://www.slam.org/blog/moores-reclining-figure-returns-to-the-galleries/
These are just a few different ways in which concrete can be used besides in just construction. It can be used to keep skaters off the streets and in a fun environment. It can be used to keep the citizens of a city safe from the homeless population scattered about. It can be used in art to convey emotion, ideas, viewpoint and just be a general outlet for artistic passion. Honestly, it seems like today concrete just keeps becoming more advanced in the ways it’s manufactured, the ways it can be applied in construction, and even the ways it can be a part of our everyday lives. I am personally very exited to see what the future holds for concrete and what we have in store for it.
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