1. 14 concrete SEPTEMBER 2015 www.concrete.org.uk
T
he level of expertise and creative design has
been obvious to see, as the leading professional
installers have increased their knowledge,
understanding and practical skills base to undertake
ever-more complicated and technically demanding
paving projects.
This year’s judging panel at The Concrete Society
included: Jeff Williams, an experienced pattern-
imprinted concrete installer from south Wales; Jonathan
Reid of Grey Matters, who is an architectural concrete
repair and finishing consultant; Graham True of GFT
Consultants, our regular concrete specialist expert
judge; and Ian Heritage of The Concrete Society, who
provides the latest technical detail from the concrete
industry and ensured the smooth running of the event.
John Linley, PICS technical manager, was on hand to
provide the photographic submissions and give insight
and advice on the installation detail and difficulties of
the projects being judged.
Three categories were judged: the best photographic
entry of a domestic decorative concrete project in the
UK; the best image of a commercial project in the UK;
and finally, the best image of an international decorative
concrete project.
While the majority of the projects seen were from the
domestic pattern-imprinted concrete market, the team
judged examples of colour-hardened concrete, exposed
aggregate, polished and flat-trowelled concrete finishes,
along with acid-stained and stencilled work. John Linley
comments, “There were some first-class photos this year
to show the work to its best effect and overall I think
even more thought is going into the design work than
GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDS
A passion for colour and
textured imprint
The creativity and passion to install quality
decorative concrete was very much in
evidence at the 2015 Golden Trowel Awards,
with examples of amazing installations from
the UK and the international category from
around the world including Vietnam, the
Czech Republic and Iceland. John Grant of
PICS reports.
First place, domestic category went to
The Concrete Printing Company.
Creative Concrete in Somerset won the commercial category
for this pattern-imprinted helipad.
First place in the international category was won by
Condecor Construction for this leisure complex in
Brno, Czech Republic.
PJ Print in Sheffield took second place in the domestic category.
Third place in the domestic category was awarded to Abbey
Driveways in Derby.
ever before, especially with respect to breaking the job
up into interesting and aesthetically pleasing features.”
The winner of the domestic award was Pete Ross
of The Concrete Printing Company, operating out of
Dumbarton in Scotland. Pete has been an established
installer of pattern-imprinted concrete since the 1980s
and submitted several quality examples of his work in
2015, from which the winning entry was finally chosen.
Second place was awarded to a project featuring an
interesting set of steps from Phil Pearson of PJ Print
in Sheffield, with a great example of a combination of
cobble and textured skin border from Stefan Shipley of
Abbey Driveways in Derby placed third.

2. www.concrete.org.uk SEPTEMBER 2015 concrete 15
Jonathan Reid of Grey Matters was judging for the
first time, following discussions with the team at PICS
at the recent Evolving Concrete show, and he comments
after his reviewing of over 300 entries, “It was a pleasure
to be part of the selection panel for the PICS Golden
Trowel competition in association with The Concrete
Society. The range and variety of works discussed
today reflected a high quality of integrity, aesthetic
appreciation and technical skill across the board. All
those that took part, including PICS itself, should be
applauded and congratulated for their input into the
concrete industry.”
The winner of the commercial installation award
was Adrian Turner of Creative Concrete in Somerset
(a previous award winner) with his entry of a unique
design for a helicopter pad. Second place went to Lloyd
Reilly Decorative Concrete for an exposed aggregate
seafront project and third place to another former
award winner, Robert Pasqualotto of Beton Tools for
an example of a trowel-finished concrete skate park
project. Jeff Williams, who was also acting as a first-time
judge, feels, “it was a great pleasure and honour to be
invited to judge at the Golden Trowel Competition. I’ve
been in the concrete trade for the past 20 years and I
thought the standard of work shown was excellent; as
a result, choosing the winners proved very difficult. My
congratulations go to everybody who participated – well
done.”
The entries for the international category featured a
number of internal as well as external projects, among
them the winning entry from Condecor Construction,
with a great photograph of the external paved area
around a wellness centre as part of a hotel complex.
Second place was awarded to Decor Beton Vietnam Co
for its internal hotel floor, featuring acid-stain work,
with third place going to Steypustodin ehf of Iceland
for its external paved combination of pattern-imprint
designs shown in its project photograph. Graham
True, who has judged many thousands of photographs
over the years of the competition, says that this
was “another year of well-designed, compliant and
practical applications of imprinted concrete. Perhaps
this batch of entries was of the highest standard so far.
What these winners have shown is the ability to tailor
each installation to suit the site and surroundings, an
advantage made possible with horizontal and vertical
applications of imprinted concrete.”
Certainly, the installers’ enthusiasm and passion
for their work came across when they discussed their
entries beforehand. The author agrees with the judges
that we are seeing an increasing number of well-
designed, planned and executed decorative concrete
projects, across a growing number of applications. This
can only offer architects and clients alike an exciting
alternative to some of the widely used standard and plain
block-and-brick design options currently available.
The final comment comes from Ian Heritage of The
Concrete Society, who says that “it was a real pleasure
to be involved in the judging process, though difficult
to pick the winners as the standard of numerous entries
was extremely high. This led to lengthy and passionate
debate. The quality of the entries, together with the
number of different techniques used, really did display
what an outstanding positive impact quality decorative
concrete can make in virtually any situation. This
competition shows decorative concrete to the highest
standards, showcases the industry in a most positive
light and should be applauded.”
To see examples of the 2015 entries, visit:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.
be&v=vkdkcp3YSw0 ●
GOLDEN TROWEL AWARDS
● Golden Trowel Awards 2016
To enter the Golden Trowel Awards next time or for more
details about any aspect of decorative concrete design,
installation or materials e-mail: golden.trowel@picsuk.com
Second place in the commercial category – Lloyd Reilly
Decorative Concrete for an exposed aggregate seafront project.
Second place in the international category went to Decor Beton
Vietnam Co for this floor at Six Degrees café in Vietnam.
Steypustodin ehf of Iceland was given third place in the
international category.
Beton Tools’ concrete skate park project was awarded third
place in the commercial category.
Hand-imprinted and stained
circle feature by Decorative
Concrete Specialists of
Swindon.