Brutally Honest

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“Concrete was developed and exploited by the Romans to the best of their ability,” asserts architect Randolph Gerner, “and even though it’s an ancient material, it’s perfect for today’s high-tech opportunities.”

Architect Randolph Gerner may not have written the all-encompassing book on concrete, but he’s held it in its original Latin form at the Vatican library and spent his career building upon it.

Gerner’s Beton brut approach – where the concrete is left unfinished after casting – allows the raw beauty of the material to be the focus. “I’m not an architect who likes to cover up the true nature of a building,” he shares. “I like to celebrate the structure of the building.”

As principal at GKV architects, Gerner has been instrumental in embracing the concrete renaissance. “The material has continually evolved and been improved upon by science,” he tells. Steel reinforcement allows it to now work well in compression and tension, and while concrete was popular in the 1960s, today’s tech options, which include creating urethane molds of pretty much any shape and size, create new opportunities.

“We’re reducing the number of issues that could affect the final result,” he states. Yet Gerner still embraces that rich tradition of the material – as written by Vitruvius in 25 B.C. in the Ten Books on Architecture – for his inspiration. When he was in the Vatican and had access to the oldest version of the book, which dates back to the 1400s, he knew he’d found a link to his daily life that he would continue to build upon.

“It was all in Latin and I didn’t understand a word of it, but it was one of the most spine- chilling events of my life,” he recalls.

Renderings Courtesy of Millarc.

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