Allison Shawn Conley - paint and pigment tests

 infuse concrete with range of acrylic paint, powdered pigment tapped into surface

Michael Bosbous - color and aggregate experimentation

large amounts of graphite added to the mixture

green acryclic paint mixed into liquid components of concrete mix

iron shavings added as aggregate - used weak magnet to pull concrete 

sugar added to the mixture for porosity 

Allison Shawn Conley - Color Tests

TEST 01. Solid pigment was ground into the concrete, with a range of  powder to small pieces. 

TEST 02. Pigment dissolved into water added to concrete mix. Despite the bright magenta color of the ink, the color was drastically diluted. 

TEST 03. powdered pigment test in which the pigment's absorption of the water led to cracking of the concrete itself

Ayaka + Elaine

All of the casts were made in plexi-glass boxes.     

    Cast with india ink & wax.Wax was melted out. 

   Concrete cast in plexi. Layered with India Ink. Right: sanded down. 

    Acrylic Paint mixed into concrete.


   Concrete cast with marbles. Right: concrete + marbles after sanding.

    Concrete cast with turquoise aquarium aggregate. Right: after its been sanded.

    Concrete cast with silver aggregate. Right: after its been sanded.

Jessica Kuo_Concrete Samples

CONCRETE SAMPLE

SESSION 01

TEST 01

Objective: 

+ to use a soft formwork

Notes:

+ smooth finish where concrete touched plastic versus the uneven rough surface at the top

Materials:

+ Concrete Mix

+ Ziploc bag [Sandwich size]

TEST 02

Objective:

+ to use a soft formwork and the embossed texture on paper towel to create different tactility of surface

Notes:

+ fibers of paper towel were left in concrete

Materials: 

+ Concrete Mix

+ Ziploc bag [Sandwich size]

+ Paper towel sheet [1/2]

+ Vaseline [for paper towel]

CONCRETE SAMPLE

SESSION 02

TEST 03

Objective:

+ to use a soft formwork, create voids and folds

Notes:

+ as the bag swelled with concrete, the magnets were not strong enough so they kept falling off

+ therefore a layer of concrete was trapped between the magnets

Materials:

+ Concrete Mix

+ Ziploc bag [Sandwich size]

+ Magnets [8]

+ Pin [to provide air holes while curing]

formwork

front

back

TEST 04

Objective:

+ to use a soft formwork and create folds produced by pinching

Notes:

+ pinched parts were too delicate and thin and attached to the larger mass in an unstable way so they broke off

Materials:

+ Concrete Mix

+ Ziploc bag [Sandwich size]

+ Binder Clips [3, Large]

+ Pin [to provide air holes while curing]

formwork

CONCRETE SAMPLE

SESSION 03

TEST 05

Objective:

+ to play with the flexibility of a soft formwork and create "strain"

Notes: 

+ although lost in the photographs, the concrete had a shiny texture, not exactly certain why

Materials:

+ Concrete Mix

+ Ziploc bag [Sandwich size]

+ Egg Carton [1/2]

+ Pin [to provide air holes while curing]

concrete bag placed on egg carton while curing

TEST 06

Objective:

+  to play with the flexibility of a soft formwork and create "strain"

Notes:

+ Pint size ziploc bag provided a more sturdy formwork

+ Smooth and soft finish

Materials:

+ Concrete Mix

+ Ziploc bag [Pint size]

+ Pin [to provide air holes while curing]

concrete bag placed on milled foam [lower right hand corner] while curing

Wk 4 - Scott Barnholt + Jacob Esocoff

Cast #1
Material: Quickcrete
Objective: integration of hard / soft mold

Cast #2

Material: Quickcrete Sand Mixture

Objective: integration of hard / soft mold

Cast #3

Material: Quickcrete

Objective: cast in latex glove (soft material test)

Cast #4

Material: Quickcrete

Objective: cast in tin foil (soft material test)

Wk 2 / 3 Cast - Scott B

Materials: styrofoam + concrete
Objective: reduce weight

Tests - Rand

Styrofoam test: trying to achieve a lighter block. Although a high amount of Styrofoam was added,  there wasn't a significant decrease in weight compared to a regular sample.

Pre-heated soap blocks were added to this sample to test if they would melt as it cures.

About half a bottle of scented oil was added to this sample. The oil rose to the surface where it is highly concentrated. Two weeks later, the smell is still quite strong.

Acrylic paint was added to this sample to try to create a marble effect.

Anton - Week 1

Thermally Performative Concrete

Week 1

A single batch of mixed concrete was poured into two different molds. Both contained an equal amount of vinyl tubing through which water could be pumped. The mold to the left contained steel washers with an area roughly equal to the surface of the concrete, while the mold to the right contained no additional material. The attempt was to establish a test and control sample.

The two different samples were then connected to a faucet via a specially made adapter, so that both samples would be heated from the same source. 110F degree water was pumped through the hoses... The goal was to raise surface temperature 10F degrees from a starting point of 61F degrees The surface temperatures were measured by infrared thermometer, and also by thermochromic paint strips to provide immediate feed back. The entire process was timed, and temperature readings were made at regular intervals.

Which sample do you think took longer to raise 10F degrees? Which sample do you think retained its heat longer?

Standard Concrete Mix

Standard concrete Mix with Steel Plates Embedded