Time Out, March 20-27, 2002

Concrete. Pamela Buxton checks out an exhibition that’s not for blockheads.

Concrete. Doesn’t exactly get your heart racing, does it? But did you know that it is now one of the most fashionable materials for domestic interiors? At least that’s the theory behind ‘Hardcore!’ - a new exhibition at the Royal Institute of British Architects featuring everything from delicate diamond-encrusted concrete jewellery to a fullsize concrete domestic roomset.

The show has been designed by up-and-coming architects Block, who famously used urinal slabs to create the front of the ICA bar, and it is billed as the first ever major show on a material once deemed to be the very antithesis of luxury. But, according to curator Sarah Gaventa, the minimalist/loft-dwelling aesthetic of the last decade has done much to challenge showy expressions of luxury - and at the same time steer concrete’s image away from being purely a utility material.

‘It’s strong structurally and visually - a statement material,’ she says, adding that concrete fits the recent trend for hard surfaces in domestic interiors, and also the vogue for blurring boundaries between inside and out.

Its success has also been due to its versatility. ‘It’s a generous material. It works well with other textures of wood, glass and steel,’ says Gaventa. She says that the exhibition will not be just for techies - and will include a helpful glossary and information pack for those wishing to find out how to get hold of items on show.

One of the highlights is set to be the concrete roomset, which will have a poured-concrete floor and kitchen worktop, furniture including Wily Guhl’s famous Loop concrete chair, and Mark Duckworth’s concrete stools. The roomset will be filled with plenty of smaller concrete accessories, among them Kathy Dalwood’s vases and planters, concrete jewellery, concrete inset with diamonds, candle-holders, vegetable racks, fruit bowls.., you name it, you can have it in concrete.

There will even be stylish, specially made concrete memorials by designer Andrew Stafford that are unlike anything you’ve seen down the local churchyard (he’s planning sky-blue concrete), not to mention pet grave-stones with photo-etched engravings by GTF, who also designed the exhibition graphics.

Just as concrete can be pigmented instead of being a dull grey, it doesn’t have to be plain either. On show at ‘Hardcore!’ will be samples of concrete mixed with unusual aggregates - guitar picks, ballbearings, glass chips, cockleshells and even recycled CDs - all apparently under development. A section on lookalike products - allowing you to get the look without the concrete - includes carpet tiles designed by Gerardine and Wayne Hemingway, and faux-concrete flooring by Amtico. Ironic for a material that has spent most of its life imitating others.

For those interested beyond the aesthetic, the exhibition will look at the 2,000 year-old history of concrete - yes, it was the Romans who first used it as a construction material - and also its future. Exhibits include a special concrete paving stone that absorbs sound, and concrete designed for use on the Moon. Images of high-profile architectural projects featuring concrete, including work by Zaha Hadid and Tate Modern architects Herzog & De Meuron, will feature, as well as London’s very own concrete masterpiece, the new Jubilee Line underground station at Westminster.

If by the end of the exhibition you’ve been re-cast as a concrete devotee, the organisers have kindly set up a competition for a trip of a lifetime - to the US town of Concrete. Apparently the townspeople voted to change the name from Cement City in honour of the material. Enter at the show and you may become the first in a new breed of concrete tourists.

‘Hardcore! Concrete’s rise from utility to luxury RIBA Gallery, 66 Portland Place, WI (0906202 0400) Oxford Circus tube. Exhibition runs from Mar 26-May 25. Open Mon-Fri 0am-6pm, Sat 1Oam-5pm. Adm free.