Stacked rock wall? Nope, it’s concrete shaped by a form liner system and stained to look like rock. Photo by Alan Bison Inc.

Marysville’s Aerocell bought a non-descript public facility in Newport with the hopes of turning its plain Jane exterior into an aesthetically pleasing and functional space. Brian Laufenberg of Aerocell created the concept of a recessed plaza with raised planters, terraced walls and a reflection pool using concrete stained in earth tones to blend with the mountainous rural area in northeastern Washington.

The original plan was to build plaza walls of concrete with natural or cultured stone veneer. When bids for the veneer came in over budget, the solution was to use concrete shaped by a patented form liner system. The system provides structural walls for earth retainage while having a natural rock like surface. The design called for a dry stack stone pattern that is equivalent to about 16,000 individual stones in just 2,320 square feet of wall surface.

While the use of stone-textured form liners and chemical staining are not new, the combination on a project where the majority of the walls are curved and multi-leveled resulted in an unusual and spectacular project. It also saved the owner 50 percent in total costs over the original design.

Textured form liners provided the desired vertical finish, but the tops of the walls and curbs needed to match the walls. Masonry caps or stone would have been costly, so as the walls were poured, the crew textured and shaped all the top “rocks” with hand tools. Shaping each concrete rock was carefully done to match the rock shapes in the form liners and blend with the final choice of stain colors.