Category Archives: Splash Pad

Colorado Hardscapes Adds Distinct Designer Touches to McGregor Square with Bomanite Decorative Concrete

April 29, 2022

McGregor Square is the new 17,000 square foot urban use facility in the heart of Lower Downtown Denver. Bringing the best of Denver to you, McGregor Square spans an entire block adjacent to Coors Field and offers various restaurants, retail outlets, an expansive food-hall, and a stadium-sized LED screen. The center of the square is the outdoor plaza, which was built to provide a pre- and post-game gathering place for Colorado Rockies fans, as well as a year-round destination for concerts, festivals, and movie nights.

Bomanite Licensee Colorado Hardscapes worked with general contractor Hensel Phelps to install several components on the project, including polished concrete benches with a form-finished face, uncolored and colored Sandscape®, gray broomed concrete, custom trench drains, stairs, and a few ADA ramps.

Bomanite Systems Provide Stunning Results

Bomanite Custom Polishing Systems offer a revolutionary approach to designing with architectural concrete, providing long-lasting durability and exceptional abrasion resistance. Bomanite VitraFlor is the standard on which all other Bomanite systems are based, providing cost efficiency, functionality, and superior style and was the product of choice to create the polished concrete benches in the outdoor plaza.

In collaboration with project designer Stantec, Colorado Hardscapes went through three generations of mockup polished benches to provide a shape that was both aesthetically pleasing as well as structurally sound and through this development created exactly what the client was looking for. The biggest challenges on-site were forming the benches and setting the grades in relation to the plaza.

Colorado Hardscapes also utilized Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Systems for this project. Bomanite Sandscape Texture was installed to provide a modernized, long lasting, and durable paving surface over the splashpad area at McGregor Square and was an optimal choice as it is known for the sand texture on its surface and is an appropriate finish for wet areas due to its anti-slip yet walkable nature. The diamond sawcut pattern and alternating integral colored concrete was perfect to add an extra decorative touch, connecting the two sections of polished concrete benches.

Award Winning Decorative Concrete

Colorado Hardscapes takes special pride in being the concrete contractor of choice for many of Colorado’s largest General Contractors. They are dedicated to installing top-quality decorative concrete and incorporating premium products installed by committed craftsmen, which results in long lasting, innovative, and beautifully intricate concrete.

The 2021 Honorable Mention Award for Best Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Systems Project was earned by Colorado Hardscapes for their exceptional quality Sandscape Texture installation at McGregor Square. Par for the course, their superior craftsmanship resulted in durable and distinctive feature pieces that will be well utilized and will stand the test of time. Colorado Hardscapes leads by example, installing exceptional quality work on every job, going above and beyond to meet client needs and exceed expectations on every project.

Musselman and Hall Create Bomanite Con-Color Exposed Aggregate Splash Pad for Historic Foot District

August 4, 2021

Community Park, located in Jefferson City, MO is a 3.5-acre neighborhood park that children and adults alike are enjoying. Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department opened the much-needed renovated park before officially complete so that residents could start exploring the park features for family outings and outdoor getaways. Landworks Studio, LLC provided master planning and construction documentation services as part of a complete renovation to meet the needs of the nearby residents. The master plan showcases the history of the surrounding Historic Foot District and offers design elements to bring a diverse population together to participate in outdoor activities and gatherings.

A Place to Gather and Play

Community Park is unrecognizable from its former life as an empty grass plot, it has now been turned into a modern play area that includes a large climbing feature made of a complex web of ropes with a tall metal tube slide that takes center stage. Along one side runs a pair of zip lines, a unique style of teeter-totter, large net swings, interactive play sculptures, obstacle course-type with climbing bars and platforms, toddler’s play mounds and climbing logs are additional features found within the park. The full park is covered in turf, including a small hill with two built-in slides. The park has two pavilions on either side of the restroom buildings that provide shade for individuals or groups. Continuing with the decorative and fun design some of the tabletops under the shelter were given a checkerboard pattern treatment.

Colorful Splash pad Represents Historic Foot District

Closest to the parking lot is the cooling colorful splash pad with multiple jets of water shooting out of the ground. The water is on a minute-long timer to save water when it’s not being used, but nearby are three buttons on pedestals to turn them right back on when they’re in use. In order to complete the splash pad design and ready it for use, Bomanite Licensee, Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC were called in to put the finishing touches in place. Landworks Studio had specified a Bomanite exposed aggregate finish with several Bomanite concrete stains, the local winning bid contractor, Sircal Contracting, was unable to fulfill the Bomanite specification portion therefore they formed and installed the gray bands while Musselman & Hall finished up the 995 square foot pour with Bomanite Sandscape® Texture colored with seven different Bomanite Con-Color penetrating stains in Beech, Coal Gray, Mist Green, Paprika, Steel Blue, Travertine Beige and Sienna. Stencils were applied to create the historical representation of the foot district.

Slip Resistant Durable Hardscapes Create Safe Environments

When applied to concrete, Bomanite Con-Color will provide variegated and translucent coloring effects without creating a film or coating that can be worn away. Bomanite Con-Color is a viable alternative to traditional acid-based stains when a larger color palette or ease of installation is required. Preventing free-moisture migration and increased surface abrasion resistance along with no VOC/VOS content were just a few of the benefits that led Landworks Studio to specify the Bomanite product. Used in conjunction with the Bomanite Sandscape Texture Exposed Aggregate System, specifically designed for outdoor applications provided a palette of slip-resistant consistent texture and durable hardscape.

Award Winning Decorative Concrete

Musselman & Hall Contractors, LLC earned the 2020 Best Bomanite Exposed Aggregate Systems Project Silver Award for this $2.5 Million Park Rehabilitation using the Bomanite Sandscape Texture Exposed Aggregate System with Bomanite Con-Color creating a colorful decorative concrete splash pad for everyone to enjoy now and into the future at the Community Park.

Belarde Company Installs Stamped Concrete Bridge for Downtown Bellevue Park Inspiration Playground

December 18, 2020

The expansion and redesign of Bellevue’s Downtown Park was a long-time vision for civic leaders that has finally come to completion. Bomanite Licensee, Belarde Company installed a variety of stairs, sidewalks, and plazas throughout the 21-acre site as well as a key Bomanite architectural concrete feature in the newly designed Inspiration Playground.

The Bellevue Rotary Club was instrumental in helping to expand the original playground in the Downtown Park to include an innovative play space where kids of all ages and abilities can play and explore at their own pace. With the Design of Carol Henry from Design Concepts, the park is dedicated to fun, imagination and learning, and presents a universally accessible play experience that creates an overall truly Inspiration(al) Playground. The new playground offers interactive features that engage the senses, create inclusiveness and accommodate children of all abilities and their caregivers.

Belarde Company’s expertise lends to a creative small wooden bridge made of stamped concrete. The bridge planks and sides highlight the Bomacron “12” Boardwalk” pattern from the Bomanite Imprint Systems collection. The installation of a horizontal concrete imprinted surface by itself is fairly straightforward. However, constructing all the surfaces to replicate wooden planks required special attention to detail. Constructing the bridge required a monolithic horizontal and vertical concrete pour, strip color, imprint and finish process. Even the ends of the ‘planks’ utilized the Bomanite system. In addition, the bridge was embedded in the banks of an artificial stream water “Splash Pad” play area. Belarde Company constructed the stream bed using a hand-seeded multi-colored glass and aggregates system on its surface.

The project presented several challenges beyond the multiple surfaces of the bridge that included a very aggressive schedule. The owner, the City of Bellevue, was adamant that the project had to be completed before their annual Fourth of July Celebration which had been held at the Downtown Bellevue Park for over 30 years. Adding to the schedule constraints and to the inherent difficulties of installing various architectural concrete systems, Bellevue recorded its wettest winter ever! The Belarde Company team built a temporary tent structure over the bridge’s work area to adapt to the rain ensuring that a high-quality project would be delivered on time. By working closely with the City of Bellevue and Design Concepts, Belarde Company’s experience, attention to detail, and ability to coordinate, ensured the satisfaction of all parties and more importantly, a unique playground that the children visiting this unique interactive play area in Bellevue can enjoy for years to come.

To learn more about the Bellevue Park: https://bellevuewa.gov/city-government/departments/parks/parks-and-trails/parks/bellevue-downtown-park

Watch the inspiration behind the design: https://youtu.be/KEP-FtwFLOo

Bomanite of Tulsa Creates Redbud Community Park Riverbed with Bomanite Decorative Concrete

October 7, 2020

The Owasso Redbud Festival Park is a community-oriented project for the City of Owasso with a large, open green space encompassing one city block of 2.25 acres. The goal of the City was to create an urban core that brings people downtown to the heart of the city. Gh2 Architects created a design that has an open stage at one end for concerts and a covered farmers market area at the other, providing for an incredibly adaptive and flexible site for any variety of community events. The space also features a splash pad, fire pit, playground, water feature and native plant landscaping.

Local licensee, Bomanite of Tulsa, Inc. had the pleasure of installing the natural looking Bomanite Decorative Concrete starting with the water feature that stretches the length of the park along with a splash pad that emulates a riverbed of rock using a custom Bomanite Imprint System Pattern Chipped Shale along with Bomanite Cobblestone Gray color for a stylized running stream. Accent borders were placed in the pavilion area using the Bomacron Sandstone Texture in the same Cobblestone Gray color to delineate features of the paved area and support the overall design aesthetic of the park as well as provide containment for an area of white, light gray and dark gray concrete pavers.

With well over 400 distinct patterns and associated textures Bomanite has a commanding selection of imprinting tools to select from with the ability to customize your own design like that of the Owasso Redbud Festival Park landscape elements. Bomanite molds are developed from natural products such as stone or wood as well as unconventional surfaces such as metal or plastic or whatever your imagination may bring to the table. Images, logos, borders and highly custom textures are all part of the Bomanite offering. The selection and quality of Bomanite Imprinting Tools is unsurpassed in the industry as well as the quality of people that do the installations.

Superior craftsmanship has always defined the Bomanite brand and sets a Bomanite installation apart from other imprinting contractors and product manufacturers. All Bomanite Licensees receive the most extensive ongoing technical education program in the industry. And it shows in every installation as a reflection of the long standing Bomanite tradition of innovation, service and expertise. The Owasso Redbud Festival Park was a game-changer for not only the Redbud District, but for the city as a whole, bringing opportunities for the community to come together for movie nights, concerts and holiday celebrations, to name a few, where everyone can make wonderful, long-lasting memories.

Bomanite of Tulsa, Inc. received the 2019 Honorable Mention Bomanite Best Imprint Project Award for their custom and creative work for this community project.