Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most widely used building material. Its usage worldwide, ton for ton, is twice that of steel, wood, plastics, and aluminium combined.
Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number of different uses, including fuel, livestock bedding and fodder, thatching and basket making.
Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder, polymeric, or a combination of both. Metal strips often divide sections, or changes in color or material in a pattern. Additional chips may be sprinkled atop the mix before it sets. After it is cured it is ground and polished smooth or otherwise finished to produce a uniformly textured surface. "Terrazzo" is also often used to describe any pattern similar to the original terrazzo floors. Modern forms of terrazzo include polished concrete.
Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings and other structures, like bridges. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-made products are in use, some more and some less synthetic. The manufacturing of building materials is an established industry in many countries and the use of these materials is typically segmented into specific specialty trades, such as carpentry, insulation, plumbing, and roofing work. They provide the make-up of habitats and structures including homes.
Somerset Center is an unincorporated community in Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located along U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) within Somerset Township.
The San Antonio Japanese Tea Garden, or Sunken Gardens in Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Texas, opened in an abandoned limestone rock quarry in the early 20th century. It was known also as Chinese Tea Gardens, Chinese Tea Garden Gate, Chinese Sunken Garden Gate and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It is located on the northwestern edge of Brackenridge Park, near the San Antonio Zoo.
Somerset Collection is a shopping mall of more than 180 retailers located in Troy, Michigan, part of Metro Detroit. Somerset Collection is developed, managed, and co-owned by The Forbes Company, and is among the most profitable malls in the United States not owned by a real estate investment trust. The mall hosts the traditional mall retail anchor tenants Macy's, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus, along with specialty retailers like Allbirds, Altar'd State, and Vuori, and luxury brands including Dior, Saint Laurent, Versace, and Hermès.
Nitt Witt Ridge is a house on two and a half acres in the coastal city of Cambria, California, United States. Artist and recluse Arthur "Art" Harold Beal (1896–1992) bought his hillside lot in 1928 and spent most of the next 50 years carving out the terraces with only a pick and shovel, creating his own "castle on a hill".
Holnicote in the parish of Selworthy, West Somerset, England, is a historic estate consisting of 12,420 acres of land, much situated within the Exmoor National Park.
Faux bois refers to the artistic imitation of wood or wood grains in various media. The craft has roots in the Renaissance with trompe-l'œil. It was probably first crafted with concrete using an iron armature by garden craftsmen in France called "rocailleurs" using common iron materials: rods, barrel bands, and chicken wire.
Rosendale cement is a natural hydraulic cement that was produced in and around Rosendale, New York, beginning in 1825. From 1818 to 1970 natural cements were produced in over 70 locations in the United States and Canada. More than half of the 35 million tons of natural cement produced in the United States originated with cement rock mined in Ulster County, New York, in and around the Town of Rosendale in the Hudson River Valley. The Rosendale region of southeastern New York State is widely recognized as the source of the highest quality natural cement in North America. The Rosendale region was also coveted by geologists, such as W. W. Mather, a geologist working for the State of New York, for its unusual exposed bedrock. Because of its reputation, Rosendale cement was used as both a trade name and as a generic term referring to any natural hydraulic cement in the US. It was used in the construction of many of the United States' most important landmarks, including the Brooklyn Bridge, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, Federal Hall National Memorial, and the west wing of the United States Capitol building.
Dionicio Rodríguez (1891–1955) was a Mexican-born artist and architect whose work can be seen in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas, as well as Washington, D.C., and Mexico City.
Concrete is produced in a variety of compositions, finishes and performance characteristics to meet a wide range of needs.
Mexican handcrafts and folk art is a complex collection of items made with various materials and intended for utilitarian, decorative or other purposes. Some of the items produced by hand in this country include ceramics, wall hangings, vases, furniture, textiles and much more. In Mexico, both crafts created for utilitarian purposes and folk art are collectively known as “artesanía” as both have a similar history and both are a valued part of Mexico's national identity. Mexico's artesanía tradition is a blend of indigenous and European techniques and designs. This blending, called “mestizo” was particularly emphasized by Mexico's political, intellectual and artistic elite in the early 20th century after the Mexican Revolution toppled Porfirio Díaz’s French-style and modernization-focused presidency. Today, Mexican artesanía is exported and is one of the reasons why tourists are attracted to the country. However, competition from manufactured products and imitations from countries like China have caused problems for Mexico’s artisans.
Aidan or Aiden are anglicised versions of the Irish male given name Aodhán. Phonetic variants such as Aiden have become more common. The Irish language female equivalent is Aodhnait.
The Fence at Alamo Cement Company is a Faux Bois sculpture by artist Dionicio Rodriguez. The sculpture is a 125-foot-long concrete faux wood fence laid out in approximately a “C” shape and features an elaborate entrance way formed by two sculpted tree trunks. The sculpture was posted to the National Register of Historic Places on August 9, 2005.
Truscon Laboratories was a research and development chemical laboratory of the Trussed Concrete Steel Company ("Truscon") of Detroit, Michigan. It made waterproofing liquid chemical products that went into or on cement and plaster. The products goals were to provide damp-proofing and waterproofing finishing for concrete and Truscon steel to guard against disintegrating action of water and air.
Beatrice Valdez Ximénez was an American folk sculptor. With Consuelo González Amezcua and Alicia Dickerson Montemayor, she was one of a handful of Texas women of Mexican descent to win fame as a folk artist.
Eldren "E. M." Bailey (1903–1987) was an African American artist best known for his large cement sculptures, which he often displayed in his front yard. Born in Flovilla, Georgia, Bailey spent most of his life and career in Atlanta, Georgia.
Circulo Verde is a mixed-use development in Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. It is a primarily residential enclave on a meander of the Marikina River in the village of Bagumbayan on Quezon City's border with Pasig. The 12.47-hectare (30.8-acre) riverfront community is a redevelopment of the former cement plant owned by Concrete Aggregates Corp., a subsidiary of Ortigas & Company. It is one of the four major estates owned and developed by the company in Metro Manila, which in 2019 maintained a combined land bank of 50 hectares across the Eastern Manila cities of Mandaluyong, Pasig and Quezon City.
