Santa Isobel House

Certain materials get a hard time in architecture. Concrete in particular. Many people think of uninspired tilt slab construction or cheap tower blocks with no character.

The thing is, concrete can well have character, as this effort by Ricardo Bak Gordon shows. By casting concrete in wood, you get grains and interest, and create shadows and creases - the perfect startpoint for a patina of moss and the like to adjust the colour.