View the Decorative Concrete Project of the Year.

ARKANSAS RIVER MURAL
Little Rock, Ark.
Contractor | Public Art Walks, Magnolia, Ark.

Watching the river flow. This is the sense you experience as you walk along the 200-foot sidewalk adjacent to the Central Arkansas Library System's Arkansas River Mural. The sidewalk was poured to replicate the shape of the Arkansas River from Fort Smith, Ark., to the Mississippi River. More than 100 artifacts illustrated in the project tell the story of early settlers and their relationship with the river. Meanwhile, 46 different species of indigenous aquatic life also are incorporated into the design.

Steven E. Ochs' team, which included Gerald Taylor of Images in Concrete, El Dorado, Ark., and a number of local artists, used chalk lines to simulate the current of the river at the onset of the project. Taylor then scored more than ½ mile of lines using an angle grinder fitted with a diamond blade. Then the area was cleaned and etched with organic gel acid, power washed, and primed. Four colors were applied with brushes, followed by the inclusion of the artifacts and aquatic life placed into the surface concurrent with the concrete stain. Finally, three layers of polymer were rolled on with 12 ounces of 40- to 60-grit polyresin sand for slip resistance.

ARISTA PLAZA
Broomfield, Colo.
Contractor | Colorado Hardscapes Inc., Denver
www.coloradohardscapes.com

The design for this water feature mimics crop and irrigation fields found across the Colorado plains. The rectangular housing for the water feature includes black-colored interior walls and floors made of waterproof concrete. These surfaces feature a sandscape texture finish. Black corner pilasters create a nice contrast to the earth-tone exterior walls with their smooth-finished surfaces.

The pavement surrounding the feature used multiple color stains, including black, brown, off-white, and aqua set off in circular, rectangular, and square areas. Colorado Hardscapes Inc. used the same sandscape texture to finish the paving. Seating areas throughout the project accent the site. The project took several months to finish between the structural, mechanical, and electrical installation crews. Colorado Hardscapes alone had three different crews working on the project.