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by Anne Balogh, ConcreteNetwork.com
Just steps away from the Caribbean and its white sandy beaches, this modern oceanfront home in Aruba blends in seamlessly with its surroundings, using concrete throughout to juxtapose the home’s modern aesthetic with the breathtaking view.
“The homeowners had looked at other floor surfaces and concrete was by far and away a material they had their hearts set on,” says Tom Ralston, president of Tom Ralston Concrete, Santa Cruz, Calif. In 2012, Ralston was recruited by the home’s architect, Gary Ostermann, to tackle this challenging long-distance project, which involved pouring and hand finishing 16,000 square feet of interior and exterior concrete, including upper floors, lower floors, cantilevered stairs, a pool deck, and the side and front entries.
“The homeowners chose concrete functionally because they are in such close proximity to the beach and knew that sand would be constantly brought into the home and wreak havoc with carpet or hardwood. Aesthetically they liked concrete because the house was modern, and a material that could look organic with clean smooth lines would be best for their tastes,” says Ralston.
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I thought I would share this particular project which will receive 2-awards at the World of Concrete on Feb 2nd 2016 in Las Vegas. We will receive a first place for the Santa Cruz Roundabout as Best Video and also a first place for Best Specialty project. I would like to thank all involved and my talented friend Jeff Luhn for cobbling together his own and many of our video shots to produce this. I hope that you will find our unique process for this project interesting and agree…this is Santa Cruz!! Think of a surfer in baggies helping traffic along as he says “just follow the Dolphins’ Dude.”
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Tom Ralston Concrete created a beautiful monument to honor and recognize the area where the East Side Library once stood. Below on left of memorial Tom Ralston gets a thank you and a congratulatory handshake by Santa Cruz City Council member David Terrazas. On the right of the monument is historian Dan Model and Mayor Don Lane. Ralston poured the monument with a cast in place method and blocked out for 4-photo etched pictures of the East Side Library. The concrete was colored with a Yellowstone color hardener and followed by an Antique Amber acid stain; and 3-coats of sealer.
Photo Credit: Shmuel Thaler — Santa Cruz Sentinel
Read the article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
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A bird’s eye view of Tom Ralston Concrete's new Santa Cruz Roundabout with the “swimming concrete dolphins” and colorful splinter islands that flank the center piece. Each island is made up of multi-colored mounds that mimic wind swept sand dunes by-the-sea, and leave expanses of rock, shells and other sea-life impressions. Four different varieties of large flat rocks were turned on edge to mimic dorsal fins that meander through each island. Tom Ralston Concrete designed 30 hand-crafted concrete dolphins acid stained with multiple colors, custom cut abalone eyes, sea shells and beach glass. The dolphins were cast as families with 6’ mamas, 4’ babies and 8’ papas that weighed almost 1000 LBS each. A poet passing by said: “Round and round they go, Dolphins swim like traffic should flow”. A unique solution by one of Santa Cruz’s own to infuse creative design and beautify a Public Works project that helps to mitigate traffic jams at the Santa Cruz Wharf, Beach Street and Boardwalk area.
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The San Francisco Chronical published an article on August 6, 2015 about Santa Cruz County entitled 10 ways to explore the county by Maria Gaura. The number one way to explore the county according to Gaura is to "Walk the waterfront." In part, she says, "A few miles south, the Pleasure Point pathway stretches a half mile from Pleasure Point Park, with seashell-embedded hardscaping created by concrete artist Tom Ralston, to the Hook, the famous surf break at the end of 41st Avenue."
Tom Ralston Concrete is honored to be mentioned in the article 10 ways to explore the county. You can read the rest of the article in the San Francisco Chronical...if you have a subscription. See more of the Pleasure Point Park project.
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Great new spread about Tom's recently released book Sculpting Hillsides with Decorative Concrete.
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- Tom Ralston Concrete Wins WOW Award
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