Architects and designers that have tried cement coated EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) for architectural details typically love it. Our repeat client rate at PW Profiles is high, because once you’ve tried our products for yourself, it is typically easy to fall in love with it.
That said, if you’ve never tried our products before, it’s easy to have a bit of reluctance. It’s plastic based, so clients, contractors, or even colleagues may dismiss it as “fake” or question whether it can truly capture the character and authenticity of traditional materials like stone, plaster, or wood.
It’s an understandable concern. After all, we’re trained to appreciate craftsmanship, materiality, and the tactile qualities that make historic and traditional architecture so compelling. The assumption is that authentic architecture requires authentic materials – and that anything synthetic is inherently a compromise.
But that assumption deserves a closer look. When you examine what “authenticity” actually means in architectural design, cement coated EPS may be far more authentic than you think.
The Link Between Authenticity and Intent
Authenticity in architecture isn’t just about the materials themselves – it’s about honoring the design intent and achieving the visual and spatial qualities that make a building successful.
Consider historic architecture for a moment. When architects designed elaborate cornices, columns, balustrades, and moldings in the 18th and 19th centuries, they weren’t choosing stone or plaster because those materials were inherently “better.” They chose them because those were the available technologies that could achieve their design vision.
If those same architects had access to a material that was:
- Lighter and easier to install
- More durable and weather-resistant
- Able to capture the same level of detail
- More affordable, allowing them to realize grander designs
They would have used it without hesitation. The goal was never “use the heaviest possible material” – it was “create beauty, proportion, and architectural character.”
Cement coated EPS allows you to honor that same intent. It lets you achieve the design you envision without being limited by the practical constraints of traditional materials.
When Traditional Materials Actually Compromise Authenticity
Here’s something that often goes unacknowledged: traditional materials can sometimes work against authentic design.
Let’s say you’re designing a residential project inspired by Georgian architecture, and you want to include detailed window surrounds, decorative brackets, and an elaborate cornice. If you specify cast stone or precast concrete for these elements, you may run into several problems:
- Weight Limitations – The structural system may not support the additional load, forcing you to either reinforce the structure (adding cost and complexity) or simplify the design.
- Budget Constraints – Traditional materials are expensive to fabricate, transport, and install. If the budget doesn’t allow for the full scope of details you envisioned, you’re forced to choose between eliminating elements or reducing their scale and complexity.
- Installation Challenges – Heavy materials require specialized equipment and more labor-intensive installation. This can lead to delays, damage during handling, or compromises in placement and alignment.
- Durability Issues – Stone can crack, traditional stucco can fail in certain climates, and wood can rot. In many cases, the “authentic” material actually performs worse over time than modern alternatives.
In these situations, using traditional materials doesn’t preserve authenticity – it undermines it. You end up with a watered-down version of your original design, not because of the materials you chose, but because the materials you were expected to use made the design impractical.
How Cement Coated EPS Preserves Design Integrity
Cement coated EPS offers a different path. Because it’s lightweight, durable, and cost-effective, it allows you to execute your design vision more fully and more faithfully to your original intent.
Here’s how:
- No Structural Compromises – EPS weighs a fraction of what stone or concrete weighs, which means you can add elaborate architectural details without requiring expensive structural reinforcement. Your design can be as bold and detailed as you envisioned.
- Greater Design Freedom – Because EPS is easier and less expensive to fabricate, you’re not forced to simplify or eliminate details due to budget constraints. You can include more elements, achieve finer detail, and create the proportions and scale that make the design work.
- Precision and Consistency – Modern CNC fabrication of cement coated EPS allows for extraordinary precision and repeatability. You get clean lines, consistent profiles, and exact replication of details – often with greater accuracy than hand-carved stone or hand-applied plaster.
- Long-Term Performance – Cement coated EPS is resistant to moisture, rot, insects, and impact damage. It won’t crack like stone, warp like wood, or degrade like traditional stucco. This means the design you create will look the way you intended for decades to come.
In other words, cement coated EPS doesn’t compromise authenticity – it enables it.
The Question Isn’t “Real vs. Fake” – It’s “Does It Work?”
The debate over material authenticity often misses the point. The question isn’t whether a material is “real” in some abstract sense – it’s whether it achieves the aesthetic, functional, and experiential goals of the design.
When you look at a building, you don’t experience the molecular composition of the cornice. You experience its proportion, its shadow lines, its relationship to the rest of the facade. If cement coated EPS delivers those qualities just as effectively as stone or plaster – and in many cases, more effectively – then it’s doing exactly what the material is supposed to do.
Consider this: many of the “authentic” historic details we admire today were themselves innovations in their time. Plaster moldings replaced hand-carved wood because they were faster and more affordable. Cast iron replaced stone in certain applications because it allowed for new structural possibilities. Precast concrete became popular because it was more practical than carved stone.
Each of these materials was once considered a modern alternative to something more traditional. Today, we accept them as legitimate architectural elements because they proved themselves over time. Cement coated EPS is following that same trajectory.
When Cement Coated EPS Is the Right Choice
This isn’t to say that cement coated EPS is always the right choice for every project. There are absolutely situations where traditional materials are more appropriate – whether for historic preservation requirements, specific aesthetic goals, or client preferences.
But if your priority is to create a building that’s beautiful, well-proportioned, and true to your design vision – and you want to do so in a way that’s practical, durable, and budget-conscious – then cement coated EPS deserves serious consideration.
It’s not about choosing “fake” over “real.” It’s about choosing the material that allows you to design authentically, without compromise.
Rethinking What Authenticity Means
Authenticity in architecture has never been about rigid adherence to traditional materials. It’s about integrity – creating buildings that are true to their purpose, their context, and their design intent.
Cement coated EPS honors that integrity. It allows you to realize the architecture you envision, with the character and detail you want, without being held back by the limitations of materials that were never chosen for their own sake in the first place.
If you’re working on a project where architectural details matter – where proportion, shadow, and character are essential to the design – consider whether cement coated EPS might actually be the most authentic choice you can make.
Reach out to Patterson Whittaker Architectural Profiles today to speak to one of our sales team members and see why this type of product is so valuable for your architectural needs.
