Four outstanding tile and stone projects took the honors at this year’s Coverings Installation & Design (CID) Awards for outstanding design and installation of tile and stone. And, a fifth project showed off stone in sustainable construction.
“The CID Awards program is distinct because it demonstrates how beautiful product, design artistry, and a high level of technical skill come together to create spectacular architecture and design,” said Jennifer Hoff, president of Taffy Event Strategies, the event management company that produces Coverings. “Coverings extends its congratulations to all of the recognized honorees.”
The four prize-winning teams, including each designer and installer, received $2,500 and a one-night stay in Orlando to attend Coverings. All winning projects were displayed at Coverings 2017 on a video wall and on an award display across from registration.
The judging panel included Will Speros, online editor of Contract and Hospitality Design; Keita Turner of Keita Turner Design; Chris Abbate and Kristin Coleman of Novità Communications, representing Ceramics of Italy; Lori Dolnick of Frank Advertising, representing Tile of Spain; Eric Astrachan and Stephanie Samulski of the Tile Council of North America; Bart Bettiga of the National Tile Contractors Association; Chris Walker of David Allen Company; and Kevin Fox of Fox Ceramic Tile.
Residential Stone
Art House, The Zajeski Project
Hinsdale, Ill.
Designer: CVG Architects, Naperville, Ill.
Installer: Blue Pearl Stone, La Grange, Ill.
Art House is a new, two-story family-residence.
An open first floor plan required that the stone selections for nine areas, formed a cohesive design. Highlights of the home include the dramatic Kitchen Island Bar, made from a one-of-a-kind, oversized slab of Dalamata Dolomite, showcased with a book-matched mitered waterfall and deep overhang for seating. (The island is fully rodded to avoid flex and to help support the large sink and bar overhang.) The perimeter of the Kitchen supports the design of the island with Absolute Black Granite Honed counter and matching handmade undermount granite prep sink.
The adjacent Dining area is made semi-private with a wall of Patagonia White Granite, structurally supported with a solid steel frame several feet off the floor (The residence owners designed and manufactured the steel support.) Installation required seven marble setters to lift and place it exactly into the center of the frame on the first try. The dining area also includes a lighted bar of White Shadow marble.
The technical highlight of the home is the master bath. Identical twin vanities are constructed of wood and stone; the top halves of the vanities are made of Opal Calcite, a translucent white stone. Each vanity was formed of 10 pieces of stone combined to form an upper cabinet, sink and countertop. Sink bottoms were made from a single piece of stone and hand-finished to slope to the center drain. (This detail was also utilized in the kitchen sink made of granite) A counter sunk drain hole was then hand-drilled to accept the drain provided. Then the unit was put together, checked, dismantled, and taken to the site for installation.
During the installation process, a matching stone transition cap was added at the top of the plumbing wall. This cap continues along the long wall of the bathroom, over the freestanding bath tub, to connect the two vanities.
With the powder room, located off the Foyer, the front facing marble waterfall and center top with vessel sink is Calacatta Black Marble. The soft flowing black veins are contrasted by a colorful geometric floor-to-ceiling porcelain wall tile.
Other stone installation included marble, travertine and quartzite in three bathrooms, granite in the mudroom, quartz surface in the laundry, dolomite in the butler’s pantry, and marble in the studio bath.
Tile and/or stone budget for this project: $40,000.
STONE/TILE
Powder room: Calacatta Black, marble, 3cm polished (Italy)
Kitchen island: Dalamata , dolomite, 3cm polished (Brazil)
Kitchen perimeter: Absolute Black, Granite, 3cm honed (India)
Dining wall: Patagonia, granite with natural quartz crystal infiltration, 3cm polished
Master bath: Vanities, sinks, cabinets and splash walls – all in Opal calcite, 3cm polished
Dining bar: White Shadow, marble, 3cm polished
Bath 1: Striato, marble, 2cm polished (Greece)
Bath 2: Nocce, travertine, 3cm honed (Italian)
Bath 3: Verde Laponnia, quartzite, 2cm polished (Norway)
Mudroom: Absolute Black, granite, 3cm honed (India)
Laundry: Supreme White, Diresco quartz surface, 3cm velvet (Belgium)
Butler’s pantry: Dalamata, dolomite (Brazil)
Studio bath: Nero Marquina, marble, 2cm honed (Spain)
Stone suppliers included Global Marble and Granite, Levantina USA , MSI-USA, American Granite, Damar and MGSI.
SETTINGS MATERIALS:
Waterfall joints: Tenax (Crystal) water clear + (Platinum) and Knife-grade epoxy/polyester resin, as well as clear 100%-pure silicone. Multi-toned joints were hand-colored to match the variations in the stones.
Master bath: Tenax products. Joints were filled with Tenax (Crystal) water clear and classic knife-grade epoxy/polyester resin, as well as 100%-pure silicone. Bulletproof sealer by DuPont was applied to protect the surfaces.
Commercial Stone
Energy Center III
Houston
Designer: Kirskey Architecture, Houston
Installer: Camarata Masonry Systems Ltd., Houston
Energy Center III is a 546,000 ft², 20-story office building in Houston’s Energy Corridor. Work included the procurement and installation of honed Gascogne Beige flooring, polished Arabescato Ore flooring and walls, polished and filled Persian Red Travertine walls, polished Calacatta Cervaiole marble walls, thermal finish Rajah Black granite pavers/step planter veneer and Silestone® Blanco Zeus lavatory tops.
Also included were installation of the concrete masonry unit substrate, plus porcelain tile and green-glass in restrooms.
Details on installation issues and techniques are included in the MIA Pinnacles Award entry for this project.
Tile and/or stone budget for this project: $2,789,486
STONE/TILE
Polished Persian Red Travertine
Supplier: Henraux S.p.a., Querceta, Italy
Sizes: 6,700 ft² of 3cm-, 5cm- and 7cm-thick in sizes from 1’7” X 2’8” to 4’ X 7’
Colors: Persian Red (Polished)
Location: Lobby Walls
Polished Arabescato Ore Marble
Supplier: Henraux S.p.a., Querceta, Italy
Sizes: 1,620 ft² of 2 m thick in 8” X 5’ (average size) pieces
Colors: White
Location: Lobby Walls and Floors
Polished Calacatta Cervaiole Marble
Supplier: Henraux S.p.a., Querceta, Italy
Sizes: 2,500 ft² 2 cm thick in 2’6” X 4’ (average size) pieces
Colors: White
Location: Lobby Walls
Honed Gascogne Beige Limestone
Supplier: Henraux S.p.a., Querceta, Italy
Sizes: 7,100 ft² 2 cm thick in 2’6” X 4’8” (average size) pieces
Colors: Beige
Location: Lobby Floors
Thermal Finished Rajah Black Granite
Supplier: CHS
Sizes: 10,500 ft² 2 cm thick in 2’6” X 5’ (average size) pieces
Colors: Black
Location: Pavers, steps and planter veneer
Quartz Surfaces
Stone Manufacturer: Silestone / Cosentino Group
Sizes: 746 ft² 2cm-thick in 2’ X 7’10” and 2’ X 8’10” typical-size pieces
Colors: Blanco Zeus
Location: Core Restrooms – Lavatory Tops
Porcelain Tile
Manufacturer/Supplier: Dal-Tile
Series name: Magma
Sizes: 12” x 24”
Colors: Lava and Ash
Location: Core Restrooms – Walls and Floors
Green Glass Tile
Manufacturer/Supplier: Dal-Tile
Series name: Reflections in Glass
Sizes: 1” x 12”
Colors: Whisper Green
Location: Core Restrooms – Walls
SETTINGS MATERIALS
Grout/caulk (stone) – Tex-Rite Cement Accent Grout; Colors: Canvas, White & Black
Grout/caulk (stone – Dow Corning 795 Silicone; Colors: Canvas, White & Dusty Rose
Waterproofing (tile) – LATICRETE Hydro-ban
Crack-isolation membrane (tile) – LATICRERE Hydro-ban
Mortar (tile) – LATICRETE 4XLT; Color: Grey
Grout/caulk (tile) – LATICRETE Spectra-lock; Color: Platinum & Smoke Grey
Other (Tile) – LATICRETE NXT Patch
Setting Materials Suppliers: Dal-Tile, BPI, GranQuartz, SSI
Special Recognition
Villa Nemes
Imperia, Italy
Designer: Giordano Hadamik Architects, Andoraa la Vella, Italy
Installer: Simine Rizza and Ndricim Aga, Stellanello, Italy
Villa Nemes is a single-family residence built into a hillside overlooking the Gulf of Imperia on the Italian Riviera. The villa plays with the cultural landscape of the Ligurian terraces becoming part of it.
The builidng facades are clad with natural stone, and have large openings facing the valley and the sea.
The bathrooms are clad with natural stone and fit out with oak furniture and Corian® countertops. The rooms are illuminated by the above skylights; in the evening the stone walls of the walk-in rain shower and the whirlpool bath are illuminated by integrated wall washer lighting from the ceiling.
Commercial Tile
maurices Corporate Headquarters
Duluth, Minn.
Designer: RSP Architects, Minneapolis
Installer: Twin City Tile and Marble, Eagan, Minn.
For the central office location of 85-year-old clothing retailer (and that’s maurices, with a lower-case spelling and no apostrophe), the first level contains a stunning, two-story lobby entrance and grand staircase. Connections to other downtown Duluth buildings are through a second-floor skywalk.
The major circulation spaces, lobby, grand stair, elevator lobbies and skywalk system are clad entirely in approximately 10,000 ft² of Italian ceramic tile. The pattern is a Provenza Q-stone using five varying sizes of tile.
The monumental stair in the lobby featured custom cuts with multiple mitered edges to create a custom tile nosing profile. The structure for the Grand Stair was constructed with cast-in-place concrete to accommodate the complex geometries.
Concrete knee walls support the landing and curved wall. The wall was constructed by a radial metal bottom and top track with vertical metal studs spaced approximately 8” apart in a radial layout. ½” plywood backing was bent around the curve and fastened approximately every 8”. Attached to the plywood was ½” tile backer with the tile running vertically applied for the finish.
TILE
Custom stair nosing tiles: Provenza, Q-Stone; Colors, Ice; 30 X 30 (12” X 12”) & 45 X 90 (18”’x36”)
Stair landings: Provenza, Q-Stone, colors: Ice;,Opus Pattern 30×60 (12” X 24”) & 45 X 90 (18’x36’) (also used throughout the lobby, main circulation, elevator lobbies)
SETTINGS MATERIALS
Large-format tile floors: LATICRETE Sure Set.
Walls and floors: Custom Building Products, Premium Blend Thin Set Mortar with Custom-Flex Ultra-Strength Thin Set Additive; MAPEI, Kerabond with Keralastic.
Epoxy grout: Bostik Construction Products, Hydroment Color-Poxy; C-Cure Corp., ColorSet Epoxy System 931; Custom Building Products: 100% Solids Epoxy Grout; MAPEI,Kerapoxy; TEC Specialty Construction Brands Inc., AccuColor EFX, 100% solids epoxy mortar and grout.
Stain-resistant grout: LATICRETE, Spectralock.
Residential Tile
Contemporary Twilight
Aventura, Fla.
Designer: DKOR Interiors, North Miami, Fla.
Installer: Newman Brothers Construction, North Miami Beach, Fla.
Materials for the two-story residence included Italian tiles for most of the areas of the two-story residence (general flooring, outdoors and bathrooms). Accent colors used throughout the home are inspired from the essence of a twilight sky; shades of blue and grey with pops of amber.
In intermixing the different finish options available for the flooring, the connecting areas were hidden, or other design elements grabbed the eye. The grey tile floor, even with the use of different sizes and finishes, create a smooth canvas for the rest of the home.
At the master bathroom, with the marble tile installation, coordination with the installer ensured an organic placement of the veining pattern. The wood porcelain brought an extraordinary amount of warmth to the space.
Tile budget for this project: $125,500 (approximately).
TILE:
Source: Mark Collection – Atlas Concorde
Color: Chrome
Finish: Matte
Sizes: 18” X 35” / 24” X 24” / 30” X 60”
Location: General flooring downstairs; shower-wall tile and flooring in the cabana bath; flooring and field tile in maid’s bathroom; flooring in powder room; field wall tile in boy’s upstairs bath; flooring in boy’s upstairs bath; flooring in girl’s upstairs bath #2;, flooring in girl’s upstairs bath #3.
Source: Mark Collection – Atlas Concorde
Color: Chrome
Finish: Textured
Size: 24” X 24”
Location: Flooring outdoor; flooring inside shower in the cabana bath; flooring inside shower in the maid’s bathroom; flooring inside shower in boy’s upstairs bath; flooring inside shower in girl’s upstairs bath #2; flooring inside shower in girl’s upstairs bath #3.
Source: Marvel Collection – Atlas Concorde
Color: Calacatta Extra
Finish: Matte
Size: 18” X 36”
Location: Flooring and accent tile #2 in master bathroom.
Source: ETIC COLLECTION – ATLAS CONCORDE
Color: Palissandro
Finish: Matte
Size: 9” X 36”
Location: Accent tile in master bathroom.
Tile supplier: D & B Tile Distributors
SETTINGS MATERIALS:
Waterproofing: LATICRETE Hydroban Waterproofing Membrane (GREENGUARD Certification)
Crack-isolation membrane: ProtectoWrap WhisperMat® CS / Sound Control & Crack Suppression Membrane for Ceramic and Natural Stone Tile
Backerboard: USG Durock™ Glass-Mat Tile Backerboard
Mortar: LATICRETE 254 Platinum
Grout/caulk: LATICRETE brands ■