ForConstructionPros.com

In June 2008, 1.5 miles of coastal landscape along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec City was revitalized for the city's 400th anniversary celebration. A unique use of concrete adds to the artistic elements of this riverside walk project.

Known as the Promenade Samuel-De Champlain, the revitalized landscape is split into three sections, one of which includes four theme gardens. In one of these gardens, Tremca Group, the prefabricated concrete manufacturer involved with the project, placed four 12- by 15-foot concrete walls, says Stephan Martineau, technical sales representative for Tremca.

But it's not the concrete walls themselves that are interesting; it's what is on the walls - photographs. The photographs are not painted or stained but engraved into the concrete during the pour using RECKLI Photo-Engraving Formliners. The Promenade Samuel-De Champlain is the first project in North America to use these photo-engraving formliners, says Cindy Russell of Nawkaw - the RECKLI supplier for the United States and Canada

RECKLI uses a patented polyurethane formliner to create a surface pattern based off an image. To engrave the formliner, RECKLI uses a computer-based method of transferring the image data onto templates with a computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine and then casting the formliner. These formliners are scalable so almost any image can be used to create different sized formliners. Plus, the formliners are reusable, according to RECKLI.

"The rubber formliner is actually a negative, so the concrete is poured into the grooved formliner and what pops out is a positive - a series of perpendicular lines of varying thicknesses," says Russell. "And, the rubber material is so flexible that there is no breakage when concrete, with intricate details, is removed from the mold."