At a private Laguna Beach school, Boulderscape blended two geologies into one hybrid finish — sculpting 7,500 square feet of architectural shotcrete into a Monterey Sandstone face with rill-and-furrow accents, delivered in 4 days at 35% below traditional construction.
Record Installation Time
Savings Over Alternatives
Wall Square Footage
St. Catherine's School in Laguna Beach required a retaining wall that would complement the campus while blending naturally with the surrounding coastal landscape. To create a distinctive architectural appearance, Boulderscape developed a custom Monterey Sandstone finish that combined the characteristics of eroded bank formations with cemented sandstone into a single hybrid geological design.
Boulderscape hand sculpted the finish across the entire wall surface, incorporating natural strata, conglomerate deposits, and rill and furrow weathering patterns to create additional depth and realism. Three large planter pockets were integrated directly into the wall, allowing vegetation to soften the architectural face and further blend the retaining wall into the surrounding campus environment.
The project encompassed 7,480 square feet of wall surface consisting of a 14" thick structural shotcrete section with an average 4" thick architectural relief over a battered soldier pile and caisson wall system using a 5,500 PSI mix design. The entire scope was completed in just 4 days, delivering a durable retaining wall solution that combined structural performance with a custom geological finish. 35% under traditional cast in place construction. See our sculpted shotcrete process or explore more shotcrete finishes.
Installed a 14” thick structural shotcrete and a 1”- 6” thick architectural shotcrete.
Monterey Sandstone w/Rill and Furrow formation accents
Earth Blend
14"
Battered Soldier Pile /Caisson Wall
5,500 PSI
Hydration stabilizers were used to maintain concrete temperature and extend the finishing time.
