A modern architectural office transformation to a 70+ year old mechanics - heroing our high gloss terrazzo style polished concrete

In Melbourne's back streets, you will find buildings full of character just waiting for a brave owner or developer to bring them to life again.

The builder Sterling Constructions' brief was simple and straight to the point, unlike the floor. "Our ambition is to create a vibrant, light-filled space where employees will actually want to come to the office, "this place needs to be remarkable. With little to no ongoing maintenance and is suitable for ALOT of office chairs that will be moving around.

Original Flooring overview:

At first sight, I knew this was going to be a challenging project with decades of epoxy coatings, joins in the concrete with height variations of up to 40mm, ceramic tiles, oil stains, over 200 Dinabolts that required cutting, punching and filling.

Plus, all the additional chemical processes I knew the floor would require to give the polished concrete integrity and life.

This project truly had it all, a custom scope was created, and we got to work.

Finish decided:

Total exposure 95-100% stone exposure high gloss Hiperfloor Polished concrete on old damaged concrete.

New or Old concrete: old concrete

Scope rationale and alignment.

• The reflective property of polished concrete creates space, luxury and enhances the light in the building.
• Hiperfloor/MPC is a type of polished concrete that does not require a lacker/polyurethane/acrylic or epoxy coating. This means office chairs and high traffic are not subject to wear, unlike conventional coating methods.
• Hiperfloor/MPC has the lowest life cycle cost of flooring solution we offer, with little to no ongoing maintenance when cleaned correctly.
• Completely UV stable and will not turn yellow or discolour with time.
• Hiperfloor leaves the concrete in its most natural appearance whilst protecting the surface.
• Smooth glass-like texture to convey luxury and functionality

Additional processes to meet the brief:

• 3x additional grinding processes, approx. 18 cubic meters or dust bags were removed to achieve the desired stone exposure
• 5x additional densifying procedures to rectify the old concrete
• 2x grouting process to meet the required grouting range of 90-95% of total pin holes in the surface
• fill and polish all joins in the surface

Outcome: A stunning terrazzo style, seamless polished concrete floor with vivid reflection from the high gloss finish.

Filling this playful architectural office with light and life and, best of all, it will continue to look this good for years to come with no need for recoating, which would require the office to move all the furniture out and close the business while maintenance works are carried out.

Builder: sterling Constructions

Flooring: Raw Surfaces

photography: brayden warhurst