Awesome Concrete

Despite advancements in 3D visualization tech, architects sometimes still need to show physical models of buildings. MonsterKook is an expert at making this type of miniature, and his YouTube channel is filled with these tiny houses, including this impressive creation featuring structural walls he made by filling foamboard forms with cement.

The Life Art channel shows how to put the moon on your wall by sculpting a cement relief of the lunar surface. The artist starts by filling a circular area with a sand-cement mixture, building up an outer ring for depth, and then using a trowel to create a rough texture and add craters with its handle. The addition of LED lights makes the shadows pop.

This substantial writing instrument from 22Studio features a body made from cast concrete. Its seven-sided design was inspired by wooden pencils and won’t roll off of your desk. It features a retractable Schmidt P900M ballpoint pen cartridge with stainless steel hardware.

Portuguese street artist Vhils creates incredible large-scale portraits by chipping away at the surface of concrete walls with an electric hammer drill. This short video gives us a glimpse of the artist working on a giant face. His Instagram is packed with similarly impressive works.

After fabricating a miniature suspension bridge, Tiny World built a scale model of a railroad bridge based on the design of the CSX A-Line Bridge that spans the James River in Richmond, Virginia. To create the structure, they poured concrete into foam-core molds with wire supports inside.

MyronDesign creates concrete decor inspired by architecture. Among their pieces are these desk organizer cubes, which look like tiny houses. Each has cutouts for storing pens, pencils, office supplies, or, as one buyer suggested, Astroturf. Sold in a set of four. Save 5% with the code THEAWESOMER.

Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada’s CurlyWoods makes these distinctive and substantial nightstands with a fiberglass-reinforced concrete body, a wood base, and live-edge wood drawer with smooth drawer glides. They come in three sizes – in black walnut, cherry, maple, or white oak. Get a 10% discount when ordering two or more.

There are lots of kinds of bookends out there, but we rather appreciate the minimalism of roughfusion’s concrete cubes. These 3″ blocks are heavy enough to hold paperbacks upright and look great sitting on any bookshelf. Available in grey, natural, or charcoal.

Inspired by the idea that Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down, mad inventor Colin Furze decided he wanted to become a Weeble himself. So he got to work on a semi-circular concrete base and a mounting plate that allows him to roll around his workshop without faceplanting.

Concrete seems like a strange material to build a boat out of. But apparently, they are a thing and can float if they displace enough water to keep them buoyant. Peter Sripol and his pals attempted to build a remote-controlled boat out of the material with the goal of making the fastest concrete jet boat ever.

Homemade Modern has shown us how to make a concrete castle sculpture using a LEGO brick mold. Now he’s taken that technique and applied it to something more practical – the corners for a platform bed. The concrete pillars are fully load-bearing, and the bed assembles easily with interlocking wood beams and slats.

When it comes to pedal-powered vehicles, weight is your enemy. But that didn’t stop Play to DIY from making this fully functional bicycle (and matching helmet) by casting concrete. The slow-moving bike weighs in at a whopping 134.5 kg – or about 296 lb. We’re surprised that it moves and balances as well as it does.

This handmade tray from Cruickshank Creative offers a modern and minimal place to offload your everyday carry when you come home from a busy day. They’re made from cast cement with a beeswax sealant and a protective cork bottom. It measures 13″ w x 8″ d x 1-1/8″ h and comes in natural grey or white finishes.

Material Immaterial Studio created this unique chess set that combines elements of ancient Roman architecture with a modern sensibility. The concrete board was inspired by the walls of an arena, where towers representing armies of lightness and dark do battle.

Taiwan’s 22Studio presents a special edition of their 4D concrete watch. They teamed up with Zishi to design a sculpted image of a tiger and a tree, pushing the limits of concrete mold-making in the process. Its date dial features the Chinese character for “tiger”, and its see-through case back has a tiger illustration.

OUROBOROS ARQ loves to make miniature models of buildings and other structures using realistic construction materials. In this video, they show us how they built a modern multi-level house with concrete walls, brick details, a wooden staircase, and built-in lighting.

LEGO bricks are great for building all kinds of things, but did you know you could use them as a mold for casting concrete? Neither did we. HomeMadeModern shows us a couple of techniques – one in which the blocks are used as a direct mold, and the other where the bricks are covered in silicone, which becomes the mold.

MMEP Studio’s unique accent light brings a modern look into any space. Each handmade lamp is constructed from cast concrete and features a stepped and angled interior that makes it appear its LED light source is at the end of a corridor. It measures 9″H x 3″W x 3″D and is powered by a USB cable.

Etsy shop Mind The Minimal sells a variety of handcrafted home accessories made from concrete. Among them are these cork-backed hexagonal coasters. They’re made using a special light-toned concrete which can be painted with a splash of color, then sealed for durability. Sold in sets of four.

Artist PEJAC created this outdoor work, which looks like a giant crack has formed in the concrete, but upon closer inspection is actually an ant-like colony of thousands of tiny people. The work, titled Social Distancing appears outside Valdecilla Hospital in Santander, Spain. Be sure to visit the artist’s website and Instagram.

Express your thoughts or personalize a space with this handmade concrete text from Betonic Home. The 2″ tall letters are deep enough to stand on their own and can be ordered with magnets if you want to place them on your fridge. Sold in sets of four or more letters.

Slovakian company KoolForm shows off its texturing system, which can emboss realistic textures on walls. The process starts out with a layer of concrete, rolling or stamping a pattern, then painting to bring out details. The embossing tools come in wood, brick, and stone textures.

Handmade by Taiwan’s 22STUDIO, this unique writing instrument features a body made from high-density concrete. This gives the pen and its matching desk stand an artful, modern look while adding heft and substance. Available in grey or red.