Fair faced concrete, also known as decorative concrete, is named for its decorative effect. It belongs to one-time casting molding, without any external decoration, and directly adopts the natural surface effect of cast-in-place concrete as the facing. Therefore, it is different from ordinary concrete, with smooth surface, uniform color, clear edges and corners, no collision and pollution. It is only coated with one or two layers of transparent protective agent on the surface, which is very natural and solemn. Fair faced concrete is the most advanced form of expression in concrete materials. It shows the most essential aesthetic feeling and reflects the grade of "plain facing the sky". Fair faced concrete has a simple, natural and steady appearance charm, and its inherent massiness and elegance can not be imitated and compared with some modern building materials. The softness, hardness, warmth and indifference of materials not only affect people's senses and spirit, but also express architectural emotions. Therefore, architects believe that this is a kind of noble simplicity, seemingly simple, but in fact, it has more artistic effect than resplendence.
More and more architects in the world use fair faced concrete technology, such as world-class architects I.M. Pei, Tadao Ando and so on, who have used fair faced concrete in their designs. This architectural art is used in the world-famous art public buildings such as Sydney Naruto, Japan National Grand Theatre and Paris prehistoric Museum.
The development of fair faced concrete was produced in 1920s. With the wide application of concrete in the field of construction, architects have gradually shifted their attention from concrete as a kind of structural material to the texture of the material itself, and began to use the inherent decorative characteristics of concrete to express the feelings of the building. At this time, it was mostly internationalist. The most famous are the British Art Museum of Yale University designed by Louis Kahn, the world wide aviation building at Kennedy International Airport in New York designed by American designer Eero sarinen, and the terminal building of Dallas International Airport in Washington. In the 1960s, more and more fair faced concrete appeared in Europe, North America and other developed countries. In the 1980s, a group of new architects continued the internationalist style, emphasizing high technology and the scientific and technological content of building structures, forming a "High Tech School". Their representatives were Richard Rogers and Norman Foster, and their typical works were the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. In Asia, Japan was the first to take the lead in architecture. After the Second World War, all kinds of waste are waiting to be developed. Some concrete buildings do not need the process of plastering and decoration. Today, as cast finish concrete technology in Japan has been greatly developed. In the application of concrete, Japan has changed the previous method of cement surface without modification. By using modern exterior wall repair technology, the cement wall surface is treated after removing the formwork, so that the cement surface reaches a very delicate level, and at the same time, it fully shows the original and simple side of cement itself. A kind of thought that is more close to the Oriental Zen thought of inaction, represented by Tadao Ando, who is known as "poet of fair faced concrete", is integrated into his design, which fully embodies the oriental cultural color.
The development of China in China, fair faced concrete is developing with the development of concrete structure. In the 1970s, fair faced concrete was mainly used in the reverse striking construction of precast concrete external wall panel in the construction of internal pouring and external hanging system, and made progress. Later, the application and practice of fair faced concrete was almost stagnant because people put their eyes on facing brick and glass curtain wall. Until 1997, Beijing set up the "structural Great Wall Cup project" award to promote fair faced concrete construction and make fair faced concrete develop again. In recent years, a small number of high-grade construction projects, such as Hainan Sanya airport, capital airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport terminal, and the large inclined cylinder of Oriental Pearl, have adopted fair faced concrete.
With the objective needs of green buildings, the continuous improvement of people's awareness of environmental protection, and the popularity of the natural thought of returning to nature, the demand of fair faced concrete engineering in China is no longer limited to roads, bridges, factories and airports, but also has been applied in industrial and civil buildings. Lenovo R & D base built by the second company of China Construction First Bureau as the general contractor is listed as "China's first large area fair faced concrete construction project" by the science and Technology Department of the Ministry of construction, which marks that the fair faced concrete in China has developed to a new stage and is an important milestone in the development history of fair faced concrete in China.
