Distressed concrete flooring made to match old style

A 15,000 sq. ft former military vehicle factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA has been converted into a mixed-use office and retail space.

The designers of the project wanted to preserve many of the factory’s original features and make a building that blends the old with the new. Some of the concrete floorings were kept, with new distressed concrete made to match the original concrete.

Concrete flooring in commercial property is popular because it is durable and cost-effective, but industrial users are giving increased consideration to aesthetics as well. The design brief for the Gama Goat Building Renovation in Charlotte was to have a modern mixed-use building that retained many of the existing features of the original military vehicle factory, including the concrete floors. The building features exposed brick, concrete flooring, timber and steel trusses. All the original construction features were speed cleaned before adding new building materials.

Existing roof decking was used to patch up rotten timber areas, and a 55-foot wide building section was removed to create a street underpass.

New concrete flooring was required for some areas. BB+M architects and Grayeor Construction collaborated to match the concrete mix to the existing building’s concrete. This required creating a distressed look to the new concrete so that it appeared to be the same age and condition as the existing work. After over 30 trials, the desired distressed look was created so that the new concrete flooring was indistinguishable from the historic concrete floor.