Cemex says it has strengthened its position in the world leader of concrete paving by winning the prestigious innovation award at the National Ready-Mix Concrete Federation’s National Roads Competition in France. The company was recognised for the redevelopment of the roads of the Gardanne town Centre in south-east France. Cemex’s specialty concrete and aggregates provided the ideal solution for the ambitious aesthetic vision of renowned architect Philippe Ghezzi.
Cemex says it has strengthened its position in the world leader of concrete paving by winning the prestigious innovation award at the National Ready-Mix Concrete Federation’s National Roads Competition in France.
The company was recognised for the redevelopment of the roads of the Gardanne town Centre in south-east France.
Cemex’s specialty concrete and aggregates provided the ideal solution for the ambitious aesthetic vision of renowned architect Philippe Ghezzi.
The 700m route had severe traffic problems and was barely accessible to pedestrians. Ghezzi proposed a complete renovation that would make shops attractive again by opening spaces and permitting foot traffic.
His ideas was to create an original arrangement of disabled concrete in alternating light beige and dark grey, inlaid with limestone tiles from Portugal. Disabled concrete is a specialised technique that consists of pouring a smooth layer of concrete which is then sprayed with a disabling solution. Once the chemical reaction has taken place, aggregates reappear at the surface of the slab after spraying high pressure water to it.
This is one of the many application techniques afforded by Cemex, and this arrangement made it possible to highlight the traffic zones and restore coherence to the town centre. In addition to the innovative aspect, the judging panel was said to be captivated by the aesthetic side of the project and the contrasting materials (roughness of the disabled concrete and smooth surface of the tiles), which complement each other in different shades of grey.
The limestone tiles were added manually once the concrete was smoothed, which required walkways to be built so that it was possible to work above the fresh concrete without touching it.
The town centre of Gardanne is considered one of the most visually inspiring places in France. The town is renowned for being the home of Paul Cézanne in 1885 and 1886, and the picturesque hill town inspired several important Cézanne works, and his time living there is considered a key transitional period in his career.
