Fu-Tung Cheng, born in Los Angeles in 1948, grew up in Van Nuys, California among a family of artists. His mother was an accomplished color artist at the Walt Disney Studios. The youngest of five boys, Fu-Tung and three of his brothers all found life-long passions in the arts.

Fu-Tung attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where in 1968 he won a junior-year abroad scholarship to Japan. After a year of studying Buddhism, Japanese culture and the martial art of Shorinji Kenpo (in which he now holds a second-degree black belt), he transferred to the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1971. Soon afterward, Fu-Tung began his lifelong practice of T'ai Chi; he currently teaches at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery.

In 1975, Fu-Tung purchased his home in Albany, just north of Berkeley and began a 25-year-long "experimental renovation" that continues to define and inform his hands-on, timeless green design. Fu-Tung's early experiments included crafting his first-ever concrete countertop (14-foot single-cast piece) and applying Japanese joinery with recycled timbers, recycled gymnasium flooring and salvaged steel-frame windows.

In 1978, Fu-Tung founded Cheng Design. The Berkeley-based company initially offered services in residential renovations, specializing in innovative, contemporary kitchen and bath design. Within a short time, the company incorporated custom home design and, in the 1990s, added commercial products to its offering.

From design to construction, Fu-Tung's custom home projects have earned him numerous awards over the years. These full-scale design and architectural projects have given him complete creative license to experiment with his signature medium — concrete — as well as an outlet to further extend his artistic expression in other areas of the home, such as hardscape and landscape design.

Cheng Design Products, Inc. was launched in 1998 as a way to introduce the Cheng Design aesthetic to a broader market. Cheng Design Products offers two lines: The first is Cheng Hoods, uniquely designed ventilation units for the distinctive kitchen. The second is Cheng's boutique line of sculptural concrete countertops — Geocrete™ — the model for concrete countertop fabricators all across the country.

Created by Fu-Tung, the custom ventilation hoods are available in eight distinct designs. The hoods offer many qualities that reflect the Cheng aesthetic: a blend of superior craftsmanship, contemporary minimalism and organic warmth.

Custom-formed or available in pre-designed compositions, Geocrete™ is an unparalleled series of proprietary concrete countertops for the home, kitchen and bath. These distinctive countertops offer a luminous, glass-like finish in sculptural shapes and innovative designs, handcrafted in Cheng Design's fabrication shop by a skilled team of artisans and craftsmen. Geocrete™ countertops can be customized with additional design features — such as integrated cutting board slots, stainless steel or brass drain rails and trivets and embedded decorative objects.

Today, Cheng's work has become internationally known for its sophisticated, understated design and innovative use of concrete throughout the home. While not an architect himself, Cheng heads a team of architects and craftsmen that create a range of projects — from concrete water features, sculptural countertops, walls, custom hoods, kitchens, baths, as well as complete, custom homes.

A list of Design Services can be found here »

CHENG Concrete Exchange, a division of Cheng Design Products was launched in 2003 as an online channel for all topics, products and information related to concrete countertops. Via this online resource and marketplace, designers, homeowners, builders, concrete professionals and do-it-yourselfer homeowners can enroll in hands-on training programs, access design tips from image galleries and purchase concrete countertop products from a full line of materials and equipment in the online store.

CHENG Concrete Exchange has become a leading online destination for additional reasons: Fu-Tung's on-going, active involvement in both resource and product development, as well as the support of a popular directory of concrete professionals.

Fu-Tung contributes design insights for the site's quarterly, online publication "In The Mixer." He designed and developed CHENG Concrete Exchange's inital product offering, NeoMix Pro-Formula. This revolutionary product coupled with his bestselling book, Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath has expanded the thinking of many to include concrete as an appropriate and desirable material for the home. The next generation product line — CHENG Concrete Countertop Products — went to market in the fall of 2006 and was greeted with acclaim by industry professionals and end-users.

CHENG Concrete Exchange is also the home of a member contractor and building professional online directory — an excellent resource for any homeowner, architect or designer looking for a source to build their next concrete countertop project or simply for industry networking.

More information on CHENG Concrete Exchange can be found here »

Concrete Countertops: Design, Forms, and Finishes for the New Kitchen and Bath (Taunton Press, 2002), Fu-Tung's first book, has become the guide on how to build a concrete countertop from start to finish. This comprehensive bestseller regularly appears on remodeling lists nationwide and is a major catalyst in the fast-growing market of concrete in the home.

It is not only a DIY guide, but also a source for design inspiration and has a broad audience which includes professional contractors, architects, designers, do-it-yourselfers, homeowners and anyone interested in innovative design.

In Spring 2005, Taunton Press released Fu-Tung's much-anticipated second book, Concrete at Home, a natural follow-up to Concrete Countertops that completely explores the full potential of interior concrete applications. Chapter topics include fireplaces, water features, walls as monoliths, and homes made entirely out of concrete.

You'll find more information on Fu-Tung's books here »

Additionally, Fu-Tung — known for his down-to-earth style and approachable manner — is a popular speaker at industry tradeshows and events nationwide.

Up-to-date media and events information can be found here »

In 2004, Cheng Design formed a strategic partnership with Zephyr Ventilation, a leading San Francisco-based manufacturer of residential ventilation solutions. With Fu-Tung's creative sensibilities, the two companies have introduced an elegant and contemporary line of high-end ventilation hoods, which include five distinctive models. Each brings a clean, stylish look at an affordable price point to today's kitchen: the Okeanito hood, a replica of Cheng's original hand-crafted Okean, has organic, sculpted lines; the Trapeze, a kitchen island hood, features a slow-curve canopy; the Shade hood, inspired by a matchbook cover, features a unique hinged design, with innovative interchangeable custom front panels; the Cache hood, with its spacious storage compartment, brings ordered elegance to any kitchen; and the Padova hood, featuring a canopy as a virtual canvas to be customized with any number of materials.

See the complete Cheng Design by Zephyr line here »