Project Case Studies
CEMEX Busselton Display Centre
This time the challenge for the CEMEX Architectural Projects team was in-house; convert the existing Strelly Street Busselton office from an old fuel yard shed to a modern display centre featuring both exposed aggregate paving and polished concrete floors.
CEMEX faced a dilemma; they occupied an ugly duckling shed but it was located perfectly in the centre of Strelly Street, at the heart of Busselton’s 7-day-a-week commercial building products and home handyman area.
So the decision was made, CEMEX would transform its ugly duckling into a swan.
The result is told in pictures but the process was as follows.
The first job was to fully frame up the display area and create a reception counter. Existing concrete displays were then removed leaving an area of old painted concrete floor that was to become a stylish, modern polished concrete floor.
The CEMEX team had chosen to feature 4 separate colours from their ColourPave range within the polished concrete flooring – Ivory (off-white), Moondance (black background) and 2 grey floors, Pebble Beach and Smiths Beach.
Rather than rip up the old concrete floor, the CEMEX team decided to use this as a base for the new concrete and the aluminium flat bar that would border the outside walls and provide formwork for the 4 separate concrete pours that would provide the polished concrete floors.
Aluminium formwork in place, Dave Roberts and his grano team began the 4 separate concrete pours, Pebble beach first and working from the rear corner then Moondance, Ivory and finally Smiths Beach. Dave was also asked to embed a large aluminium CEMEX logo, plus each of the product names that had been laser cut in aluminium, into the surface of the concrete.
With the concrete placed, next were the concrete polishers, WA Terrazzo. With their high tech machinery, the team needed to grind and polish not only the floors but also the aluminium borders, logo and name plates that were embedded within the concrete.
In other projects it would be just as easy to embed and polish stainless steel or brass, and the CEMEX team can arrange for even the most detailed logo or design to be produced.
With shining polished concrete floors now the feature of the display centre, attention shifted outdoors where the building was being repainted in corporate ColourPave colours of dark grey and red. New CEMEX signage was fitted to the roof and the front of the building was now clad in a large metal-look CEMEX logo.
Greg Higgins and the Westec concrete team were next to arrive and began the task of placing numerous display panels of exposed aggregate concrete. Greg included 2 of his speciality stencilled patterns into the concrete with several panels in CEMEX’s new “Close Shave” low exposure aggregate concrete.
With the exposed aggregate concrete external displays completed, the focus moved back indoors. A granite benchtop was installed and stainless steel wall display panels and feature steel skirtings and facings installed.
Finally furniture, plants, water fountain and our all important architectural and building journals were put in place and the ugly duckling was now a swan. The Busselton transformation was complete.
Remember, “at CEMEX quality is not an occasional concern but a relentless dedication.”
The CEMEX Busselton display centre is open weekdays to 5pm and Saturdays to noon. The outdoors exposed aggregate display can be inspected 7 days a week.
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