The cement paste at the surface of concrete is washed or sandblasted away while still young, exposing the decorative aggregate (river rock, crushed granite, glass cullet) underneath. Reads as a constellation of stones held in a matrix — the architectural surface, more deliberate than broom or salt finish. Mid-century apartment-building exteriors, modern hardscape, museum plazas.
Two methods: (1) Surface retarder — chemical that delays cement set on the top 2–5 mm — applied to the slab immediately after final float; the next day, surface is pressure-washed exposing the aggregate. (2) Sandblast or grind a cured slab to a controlled depth (3–10 mm). Aggregate selection drives the visual: rounded river rock for soft register, crushed granite for sharp / contemporary, recycled glass for color punch. Slip-resistance R-11 to R-13. Cost meaningfully higher than broom-finish; doubles or triples the slab budget when the aggregate is decorative-grade.
character — stone-constellation matrix, architectural-deliberate register, slip-resistant.
Marble Institute of America / Natural Stone Institute care-and-finish guides; ASTM C1242 dimension stone terminology.
House vocabulary — terms ForMatter uses with intent.
Materials and processes for people who design and make things.
A local-first library of materials, processes, applications, and finishes — equal weight, citable everywhere, so a student can move from "what is this" toward "what's actually buildable here, now, by me." Part of the renato.design ecosystem — sibling of Plenum, Specimen, Ingenue, gesture, graf, and the Renato Rhino plug-ins. Form and matter, inseparable.
Half of teaching materials is teaching how the material is made into the thing. The standard subscription library was always light on that half. The wedge here isn't better samples or a prettier interface — it's treating Process as a peer entity, not a footnote.
Conway, Lefteri, Forty, Sparke, ASM, GIA. Every voice: Voices.
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