Emotions thanks to colorful photo concrete

Monotonous concrete façades many companies can easily come up, thought the construction specialist Fabrino, who took a different approach: Fabrino, manufacturer of innovative chemicals for the concrete industry, took as his motto: “Life  belongs in there.” He then developed his so-called photo concrete. It enables the display of lettering, photos and company logos of gigantic size on concrete façades. Photo concrete can show a great variety of motifs on the façade of a plant: such as firefighters at work, party scenes and historic factory motifs. Attention arousal is guaranteed.

Conspicuous and memorable, these concrete surfaces – washed out and artistically created with the aid of a surface retarder – positively surprise the viewer: not only by their imaginative motifs, but also by the high quality of the process.

High-quality value and long durability

With the logo technique and the photo-concrete process, Fabrino succeeded in transposing pictorial motifs onto precast concrete components. Here, unlike applications with textured form liners, the influence of light and shade is of no importance to the viewer of the completed concrete element. The final impregnation protects the images from dirt and possible efflorescence.

Whether underground garage, building façades or large-area concrete surfaces – to Fabrino, there is no limit to the designer’s imagination for the use of photo concrete. Production takes place in Germany; the supplier of special architectural concrete and high-performance fibers is based in Memmingen, in the German state of Bavaria.

Functioning principle and application

The motif is transposed onto a special sheet, with use of setting retarder and by means of an innovative printing process. The sheet is placed into the formwork and filled with concrete. Once the concrete has attained the required strength, the precast element is demolded and then further processed with a high-pressure washer. The interaction of washed-out surfaces with areas of smooth concrete brings out the motif.

Architects, planners, and the catering trade in particular, as well as design-oriented entrepreneurs, gallerists and creative private individuals are enthusiastic about the new process.