Designing Functional Concrete Countertops

Length - 03:10

Designer Fu-Tung Cheng's Teance Tea Shop in Berkeley, Calif. is a unique example of how decorative concrete can be incorporated into a commercial setting that calls for great aesthetics and functionality. One of the biggest aspects of good design is form and function and how the two are linked together.

Cheng's design is not just to be unique or different, though it often is. Each element or material he uses serves a functional purpose. At the Teance Tea Shop, the bar is shaped to match a tea cup. This curved shape is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also provides space for patron's knees when they are sitting at the tea bar.

When clients are sampling tea at the bar, hot water is poured over all the tea vessels to keep them warm, a classic Chinese tradition. This produces a lot of water runoff. Cheng devised a copper plate under which a drain captures all the runoff water. The copper drain board serves two practical purposes: One, it hides the drain from visual sight. Two, the copper plate protects the concrete surface from damaging blows from tea pots.

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