This New Material Will Change Development

The foam material is applied over non-load baring walls to mimic the look of concrete.

LOS ANGELES—Architecture firm TCA has developed a new foam material that mimics the look of concrete, but requires less maintenance and is more cost effective. The firm developed the new material for its already award-winning Neptune Marina project, a massive 525-unit mixed-use project from Legacy Partners in Marina del Rey. “Back in the 50s and 60s, there would typically be a concrete block that would form a wall, and the wall might be eight feet tall, so the wall would be easy to put together,” Tim Mustard , studio director at TCA, tells GlobeSt.com. “We have this wall going up as high as 55 feet off the ground plane, so we couldn’t apply concrete on the side of a wood building and make it be successful. So, we teamed with a foam manufacturer to make a foam product that simulates the concrete block pattern, but it is actually a lightweight foam that we can simply apply to the outside of the building.”

At night, light will shine through portions of the wall.

The project brings a mid-century modern aesthetic into the 21 ^st century, and this new material has become an integral part in bridging the gap. TCA used a foam manufacturer in Bakersfield to create the material and the mold for the wall, and has copyrighted the end result. “We designed it in a three-dimensional platform, and we spent a lot of time putting it together,” says Mustard. “We copyrighted the pattern, and so the design of the block cannot be duplicated.” The foam material is also coated to be fire resistant. The “concrete” walls on Neptune Marina are non-load baring walls built with square blocks and sealed tubes that lay vertically and horizontally, and is then assembled like a jigsaw puzzle. Then, the foam is applied. “In some places, we have applied the foam to the side of the building so that it is attached to the stucco, and in other places, we have used it to be see through,” says Mustard. “Our plan is to have a colorful lighting behind the block to become a beacon.”

The tallest concrete-like wall is 55-feet tall.

In addition to being more feasible than concrete, the product is also a cost effective solution. Although the team didn’t know that while creating it. As we were developing the prototype, the contractor was checking to find out how much it would cost to do this finish work. At the end of the day, we found out that the nine blocks and the support seals were as cost effective as doing any other material, like stucco or wood siding,” says Mustard. “It is significantly less than concrete.” The property is expected to open in late 2018.