C.E.S. Office – Martinez House: Construction of octagonal freestanding concrete columns, with low-cost formwork, shot in gunite – Photographs of mock-up

Construction technique for concrete columns, with base, capital and an elegant flare where the shaft meets the base, shot in gunite into a low-cost open form. The corners of the column shaft, with a flare where it meets the base, ...

One of the main topics of research, included in every building project, was to identify, early on in the design process, the material and techniques of construction. This would re-establish building as an art, and allow rapid shaping and adaptation, ...

The second building completed on the Martinez site, was a 2,000 square feet house. A gunite all-concrete building as well, it was the first sizable and fully functional project in which C.E.S. used gunite, while applying all permit and specification ...

View of the jig used as a templete for cutting the compound curves on a two-by-two, used to build the corners of the form, for building the column. This curve, cut off the plane of the diagonal, allows a flare ...

View from the interior, through the porch, with focus on the columns, with flare on the shaft to meet the base and capital, made with low cost formwork and shot with gunite .

Three views of the porch columns, with flares on the column shaft, forming a tall base and a transition towards the capital; they were built with low-cost formwork and shot with gunite.