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A dome is one of the most demanding architectural elements to specify and build. The geometry is complex, the visual prominence is high, and the material has to perform — structurally during installation, aesthetically over the long term, and practically in whatever environment the dome occupies. Get the material choice wrong and the consequences show…

One of the reasons architects and contractors choose GFRG and GFRC for architectural elements is that both materials are highly durable. When manufactured correctly and installed properly, they perform for decades without requiring any intervention. Repair is not a common part of working with these materials — it comes up only in specific situations, typically…

A ceiling dome under a certain diameter ships in one piece, arrives on site, and gets installed like any other architectural element. The process is straightforward. What happens when the dome the design calls for is too large to fabricate, transport, or maneuver into position as a single unit is a different conversation entirely —…

The roofline is where the facade ends and where the building either resolves cleanly or simply stops. A well-detailed roofline — one that uses cornice work to create a defined transition between wall and sky — reads as intentional. A roofline that ends without any ornamentation reads as unfinished, regardless of how much care went…

Drywall does a lot of things well. It’s fast, it’s cheap relative to alternatives, and it’s familiar enough that almost any contractor can work with it. In a standard commercial build, it’s often the right call. High-end hospitality is not a standard commercial build. Hotels, restaurants, private clubs, and entertainment venues operate under a different…

glass fiber reinforced cement or glass fiber reinforced gypsum, that first project tends to arrive one of a few ways: A client who has seen GFRC cladding on a building they admired A design that calls for something traditional concrete or plaster can’t deliver A value engineering conversation that surfaces GFRG as an alternative to…

Balustrades are one of the most visually prominent elements on a building’s exterior. A well-executed balustrade system — along a terrace, a staircase, a balcony, or an entrance plaza — communicates quality and permanence in a way few other architectural details can. It also, depending on the material, creates significant complications around weight, installation, maintenance,…

One of the questions that comes up regularly when architects and contractors are evaluating materials for a project is what happens if something goes wrong after installation. Structural panels get impacted during construction. Decorative elements ship across the country and occasionally arrive with a corner chipped. A ceiling dome in a commercial renovation takes a…

Older buildings with plaster domes represent some of the most impressive interior architecture in existence. The craftsmanship involved in constructing a traditional plaster dome — the scaffolding, the skilled plasterers, the layering process that could take months — produced results that have lasted generations in the best cases. But plaster is not a permanent material,…

Ceiling medallions have a long history in architectural design. For centuries they served as the focal point of significant interior spaces — the ornamental ring around a chandelier in a grand hotel ballroom, the decorative rosette crowning a dome in a civic building, the repeated detail element that tied a vaulted ceiling together. The design…