Contemporary Concrete Fireplace and Hearth

F-Tung Cheng describes the design elements of the contemporary concrete fireplace and hearth featured in this ConcreteNetwork.com video:

When using concrete in home construction, it’s important to have a contrast of mass and form and obtain a certain lightness in order to avoid creating a feeling of heaviness.

Cantilevering the hearth was an important feature as well as distinguishing it in color so that it doesn’t look so monolithic with the gray concrete. The angle of the fireplace was developed with the fireplace set back deep to show off the mass of the wall. The gas fireplace gives the feeling of the hearth and the flame and a gathering point.

This concrete house has an open modern space for informal living, and the placement of the fireplace was important. The family wanted the fireplace near the kitchen, their central gathering area.

As the walls were poured in four-foot lifts, a knockout was created along the line of the hearth for the fireplace. The hearth is slightly tapered from the bottom and floats away from the wall; it was formed using an armature and was poured in an olive color. The top is polished and has blue and turquoise aggregate as well as inlays of dolomites from Russia.

The total effect of this construction was to make the hearth stand out in its lightness, contrast and form.