Category Archives: Micro-Top XT

Colorado Hardscapes Collaborates to Create Bomanite Micro-Top XT Work of Art

October 31, 2022

The RYE SoBo apartment complex in Denver’s South Broadway Park neighborhood offers relaxed, sophisticated living with distinctive design and uniquely personal features. RYE SoBo is a community of convenience, and a residency here includes modern amenities and contemporary conveniences like a beer garden, resort-inspired pool, athletic training center, electric car charging stations, a rooftop dog park and pet spa, and a co-working venue.

RYE SoBo is perfectly located for urban adventure and provides a communal environment where active lifestyles blend together seamlessly – eclectic dives and shops, unique cafes and restaurants, bookstores, live music venues, and much more are at your fingertips. The distinct aesthetic and inspired vibes carry throughout the complex and neighborhood with thoughtful design and modern architectural features.

Bomanite Systems Equate to Installation Success

The RYE SoBo apartment complex incorporates 2,800 SF of decorative flatwork and 8,400 SF of uncolored sidewalks that were installed by Bomanite Licensee Colorado Hardscapes. Included in these installations were Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Systems and Bomanite Toppings Systems. Working with Price Design Group as the general contractor and BrightView as the landscape architect, Colorado Hardscapes integrated a specialty scoring pattern into the Bomanite Sandscape Texture sidewalks around the building and achieved the different colors using Bomanite Con-Color in Cobblestone and French Gray. Bomanite Sandscape Texture decorative concrete was an optimal application for this installation to provide added durability while inserting a decorative element that blends well with the artistic nature of Broadway Park.

Bomanite Micro Top-XT is one of Bomanite’s Toppings System applications and has extraordinary adhesion properties and the ability to withstand prolonged pedestrian and vehicular traffic, while also providing a tough, water-retardant coating that made it perfect for this installation. On the northeast side of the RYE SoBo Apartments, Colorado Hardscapes placed 300 SF of custom colored Bomanite Micro-Top XT in a pattern created by prominent Colorado artist, Clark Richert. Known primarily for his large, geometrically patterned paintings, Richert derived his work through investigation of five-fold symmetry and quasi-crystal patterns found both in nature and theoretical mathematics. With 15 different colors in the design, placing each color was laborious and tedious, but perfectly executed by the Colorado Hardscapes team. Each color is surrounded by a saw cut to accentuate the crisp lines and enhance the dimensionality of the art piece.

You can see this beautiful work of art in person off Alameda in the alleyway between Bannock Street and Cherokee Street in Denver’s South Broadway neighborhood. Richert originally wanted to use embedded mosaic tiles in concrete to create his piece, but once he saw how vivid and solid Bomanite MicroTop-XT could make each section, it was absolute that Colorado Hardscapes would employ this application instead. Projects like this are where Bomanite products really shine, allowing the RYE SoBo apartment complex to showcase Richert’s iconic art while enhancing the iconic energy and inspired vibes of the area.

Award Winning Decorative Concrete

Colored, stamped, etched, or sandblasted, today’s architectural concrete is limited only by the imagination. Colorado Hardscapes is a national leader in decorative concrete innovation, offering premium quality and lifelong durability in their finished products. Their collaboration with late artist, Clark Richert led them to create a work of art for the RYE SoBo apartment complex, earning them the 2021 Best Bomanite Toppings Project Gold Award for their Bomanite Micro-Top XT installation. Superior service, successful execution, and unbeatable results time and time again are what make Colorado Hardscapes the Front Range’s premier decorative concrete contractor.

Bomanite Announces Decorative Concrete Annual Awards

March 14, 2022

A resounding round of applause greeted these talented Bomanite decorative concrete craftsmen. Bomanite proudly presents the Annual Decorative Concrete Project Award winners! The Bomanite Annual Conference was held in Snohomish, WA, in March which culminated with the Annual Banquet Dinner where the awards were presented. It was wonderful for everyone involved to meet in person once again, to see maskless smiling faces, and to get jeans and hands covered with concrete. If you want to create phenomenal decorative concrete, you have to create muscle memory by getting your hands involved. The concrete craftsmen gather annually to learn hands on new trade techniques, business strategies and exchange ideas with Bomanite Licensees from around the world.

With a vast knowledge and years of experience, these Bomanite Craftsmen define decorative concrete. Strong. Durable. Artistic. Creative. Bomanite Licensees work on anywhere from multimillion-dollar commercial projects to affordable residential housing, new builds, and improvements, and everything in between.

Texas Bomanite received the Best Bomanite Patène Artectura Project – GRAND AWARD for their stunningly gorgeous work on the Hotel Drover in Fort Worth, TX. Using our Bomanite Coloration Systems Patène Artectura and Bomanite Modena SL with Chemical Stain, Texas Bomanite was able to achieve a consistent and beautiful look throughout the many diverse architectural areas of the hotel. They provided decorative concrete flooring in the hotel lobby, levels 1 & 2 of the offices, levels 2-6, the event barn bar area, outside the event barn restrooms, and stained concrete columns in the event barn.

Carolina Bomanite Corporation, Mt. Holly, NC, received the Best Bomanite Imprint Systems Project GOLD AWARD for their pretty and professional craftsmanship at Courtyard Marriott, Greenville, SC. Using the Bomanite Imprint Systems Bomanite Bomacron Patterns Running Bond Belgian Block, 10” Boardwalk, and Slate Texture, Carolina Bomanite created decorative concrete for multiple amenity and entry areas. This project was underway prior to COVID and was delayed during construction for approximately one year. The diversity, yet cohesion, of the installation of the patterns is literally enchanting and breathtaking.

Bomanite Licensee Colorado Hardscapes received the Best Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Systems Project GOLD AWARD for their distinctive decorative concrete work at the Market Station, Denver, CO. Using Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Systems with Bomanite Sandscape® Texture, Colorado Hardscapes achieved an unforgettable eye-catching decorative concrete pattern on the paseo that draws the eye directly to the chevron pattern. The paseo is located where one would normally find the alley. There were innumerable technical challenges that came with this project including having to coordinate the snow melt system so that decorative sawcuts didn’t cut through the tubing that ran beneath.

Colorado Hardscapes also captured the Best Bomanite Toppings Systems Project GOLD AWARD for their unbelievable achievement at RYE SoBo Apartments, Denver, CO, of creating the Clark Richert Abstract Art in decorative concrete titled: Four Color Intertwine – 2021. Using Bomanite Toppings Systems with Bomanite Micro-Top XT, the art piece was brought to life with fifteen different colors, and each color is surrounded by a saw cut to add to the crisp lines and enhance the dimensional look. Richert originally wanted to use embedded mosaic tiles in concrete to create his piece, but once he saw how vivid and solid Micro-Top XT could make each section, it was absolute that Colorado Hardscapes utilize that product instead.

Bomanite Licensee Premier Concrete Construction took home the Best Bomanite Custom Polishing Systems GOLD AWARD for their dazzling decorative concrete work at Colonial Theater Keene, Keene, NH. Using Bomanite Custom Polishing Systems with Bomanite Modena TG Epoxy Terrazzo they were able to achieve stunning results on the flooring, pre-cast cove base, and pre-cast stairs and risers. All included two colors and a diamond strip pattern. Supply chain issues that would have delayed the project for five months after the scheduled to begin forced Premier Concrete Construction to set up their own shop to pre-cast 300LF of cove base and the full set of stairs and risers per spec.

We’d like to thank all the Bomanite licensed contractors who submitted entries for this year’s award contest. The Bomanite Decorative Concrete Annual Project Awards has been a tradition for more than 50 years for Bomanite Licensed Contractors to submit their outstanding projects. Bomanite Licensees compete among the best of the best to be recognized for their hard work and creative talents. The winners are announced at the Bomanite Annual Conference, held in various cities from year to year. This is a taste of artwork and craftsmanship in the decorative concrete market that can be achieved by the Bomanite network of decorative concrete craftsmen. Additional awards were given for Silver, Bronze, and Honorable Mention categories. Please take a look at the award-winning projects.

2021 List of Bomanite Award Winners

Bomanite Imprint Systems

HONORABLE MENTION: Carolina Bomanite Corporation – The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery – Charlotte, NC – Bomacron Pattern: Running Bond Belgian Block
HONORABLE MENTON: Connecticut Bomanite Systems – Branford Route 1 and 2 Roundabout – Branford, CT – Bomacron Pattern: Ashlar Slate and Herringbone Brick
BRONZE: Connecticut Bomanite Systems – Downtown Danbury Transit Oriented Development – Danbury, CT – Bomacron Pattern: Medium Ashlar Slate, Soldier Course Belgian Block
SILVER: Beyond Concrete – Dennis Collins Park – Bayonne, NJ – Bomacron Pattern: Circular Cobblestone/Granite Texture, 11-inch/6-inch Boardwalk
GOLD: Carolina Bomanite Corporation – Courtyard Marriott – Greenville, SC – Bomacron Pattern: Running Bond Belgian Block, 10” Boardwalk, Slate Texture

Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Systems

HONORABLE MENTION: Colorado Hardscapes – McGregor Square – Denver, CO – Bomanite Sandscape® Texture Exposed Aggregate System
HONORABLE MENTION: Heritage Bomanite — Maravillosa Senior Living – Fresno, CA – Bomanite Sandscape® Texture Exposed Aggregate System
BRONZE: Bomanite Toronto – Sunset Drive Private Residence – Toronto, Ontario, Canada – Bomanite Sandscape® Texture Exposed Aggregate System and Bomanite Sandscape Refined Exposed Aggregate System
SILVER: Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC – Stowers Institute for Medical Research – Kansas City, MO – Bomanite Sandscape® Texture Exposed Aggregate System
GOLD: Colorado Hardscapes – Market Station – Denver, CO – Bomanite Sandscape® Texture Exposed Aggregate System

Bomanite Toppings Systems

GOLD: Colorado Hardscapes – RYE SoBo Apartments – Clark Richert Abstract Art – Denver, CO – Bomanite Toppings System Micro-Top XT

Bomanite Specialty Project

HONORABLE MENTION: Bomanite Artistic Concrete – WestStar Tower at Hunt Plaza – El Paso, TX – Bomanite Specialty Project – Specialty Walls

Bomanite Custom Polishing Systems

BRONZE: Premier Concrete Construction – Laflamme Residence – Etna, NH – Bomanite Belcolore Custom Polishing System and Bomanite Modena SL Custom Polishing System
SILVER: Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC – Westview Elementary – Excelsior Springs, MO – Bomanite VitraFlor Custom Polishing System
GOLD: Premier Concrete Construction – Colonial Theater Keene – Keene, NH – Bomanite Modena TG Epoxy Terrazzo Custom Polishing System

Bomanite Patène Artectura Project – GRAND AWARD

GRAND AWARD: Texas Bomanite – Hotel Drover – Fort Worth, TX – Bomanite Coloration Systems Patène Artectura with Bomanite Modena SL with Chemical Stain

Musselman & Hall Contractors Creates Checkered Bomanite Micro-Top XT Pattern for the New Cerner Campus

April 21, 2021

The Cerner Corporation Innovations Campus located in Kansas City, MO has added two new office towers to their 290-acre campus that will support an additional 3,000 employees. The recent additions represent phases three and four of its 16-phase, $4.5 Billion plan. This giant healthcare IT company is expected to complete construction around 2025. Once complete it is expected to house 16,000 employees, 10 office buildings as well as mix-used space for two data centers, a grocery store and retail space.

After completion of the build, the client was not happy with the way the concrete at the front entrance of the new Cerner Campus Buildings had turned out. The architectural firm for the project, Gould Evans, called upon Bomanite Licensee, Musselman & Hall Contractors, Inc. for a consultation and to discuss what they could to do to match the vision and design they were hoping to achieve.

The designers plan for the entrance was to replicate the window and sheathing pattern on the buildings, which was all planned to emulate the data created in the human genome project. After several mock-ups of textures and color options it was decided to go with a mix of Bomanite Micro-Top XT and Bomanite Micro-Top ST application methods.

The Bomanite Toppings Systems is a revolutionary approach to designing with architectural concrete that offers several coloring systems, overlayments and renovation systems that can redesign, restore or refurbish projects. Bomanite Micro-Top XT, part of the Bomanite Toppings Systems, is a two-part, polymer-modified cementitious coating that can be applied over almost any clean, sound exterior surface including concrete, cement block, tile, metal and wood in a wide range of colors and graphics. With its extraordinary adhesion and ability to withstand prolonged pedestrian and vehicular traffic it made perfect sense to choose Bomanite Micro-Top XT to meet the project design needs.

Bomanite Micro-Top ST is a specialized decorative concrete option with the same distinct quality and properties as Bomanite Micro-Top XT and can be applied without affecting surrounding materials or fixtures. In order to achieve the desired outcome for the client, Musselman & Hall applied the Bomanite Micro-Top XT with a broom finish in Bomanite Nickel Gray Integral Color and an alternating complimentary Bomanite Micro-Top ST spray applied finish in Bomanite French Gray Integral Color which provided for color and textural variation.

Cerner Corporation was not only happy with the outcome of the entrance, but it was completed in 2 phases to ensure continued access to the building. The entryway is eye catching and extremely consistent in application and color earning Musselman & Hall the 2020 Best Bomanite Toppings Systems Project – GOLD AWARD for their outstanding decorative concrete craftsmanship.