U.S. and World Newswire
:
Construction and Building
:
Building Products
News
Largest Glass Tile Mural in America Wins Spectrum's First Prize at the Chicago Coverings Tile and Stone Exposition
Published: Mon, 23 Apr 2007, 16:59:00 EDT
DENVER, Colo. - Apr. 23 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The Spectrum Awards acknowledge and reward the most creative and amazing uses of ceramic tile in residential and commercial projects; this year, Keith DeWald, founder of Becoming Tile, LLC (www.BecomingTile.com), takes first place for the exterior mosaic mural on the Hong-Kong based, Wing Lung Bank, in the busy financial section of Alhambra, CA.
The Spectrum competition is opened to architects, designers, builders, contractors, distributors, retailers, installers and other professionals whose projects demonstrate creativity and achievement in the use of ceramic tile in residential and commercial projects.
Past winners have represented four continents and their entries have been featured widely in trade industry, architecture, design and consumer home publications. The Spectrum Awards have become the ceramic tile industry's leading recognition of the ultimate in tile craftsmanship and creativity.
When Wing Lung Bank commissioned Tsang Architecture to design a new bank building for their Los Angeles branch, Tsang Architecture contacted mosaic mural fabricators, and discussed different possibilities for their elliptically-designed entry-hall.
After reviewing several prototypes, DeWald was commissioned to work with Neil Seth Levine, the artist selected by Tsang Architecture, to create a beautiful and unique 4,300 square-foot mural. The mural was manufactured with tiles from the Kaleidoscope(R) glass mosaic tile series provided by Mosaic Tile Supplies, LLC (www.MosaicTileSupplies.com).
The elliptical entrance hall to Wing Lung Bank establishes a unique presence.
It was decided to use glass tile because of its small scale which could easily wrap around the ellipse. It was also cheaper than using metal panels while appearing richer and unique.
DeWald, who translates digital images into tile murals, worked closely with the artist, and after some artistic experimentation, it was decided that the ellipse was governed by the mountain element. An abstract design was suggested working with overlapping strata; the San Gabriel Mountains served as creative inspiration.
Incredible colors, branching foliage and swirling shapes make the mural into a work of art wrapped around the entrance to the bank and the rear of the elliptical entrance hall which is visible from the banking hall.
"The initial challenge," DeWald explained, "was working with the artist to explore how different color gradients converted to dithered tile colors, and helping him choose the color ranges that worked well with the tile available, including new colors the tile supplier was able to find and import on request."
A special software program was written to convert the design using sophisticated color dithering and color balance in order to create the exact instructions for each sheet's fabrication. It also calculated the number of each tile color required for placing the tile orders.
Twelve people, in three shifts, fabricated the 4,208 sheets of mural tile, correctly labeled them, organized them according to installation order, and shipped them to the construction site. The fabrication of the mural took nine weeks.
Tile sheet installation began in late December 2005 and was completed in late February 2006, in time for the bank's opening ceremony in March.
Becoming Tile, LLC was formed by a talented group of artisans and engineers. The company recognizes that facilitating a revolution in artistic tile applications requires an entirely new approach to this discipline and they have developed imaging techniques and manufacturing processes designed to ensure fast turn-around times, the lowest possible per-square-foot costs, and unparalleled fidelity in tile imaging.
For more information, visit: www.BecomingTile.com.
Text provided by Mosaic Tile Supplies, Inc. on behalf of the news source, Becoming Tile, LLC.
PHOTO LINK: Send2Press.com/mediaboom/07-0423-BecomingTile_72dpi.jpg
NEWS SOURCE: Becoming Tile, LLC
Send2Press® is the originating wire service for this story.
» Read More Building Products News
» Other Send2Press Industry News by Category
More Information and Media Contact:
For questions about this story, contact the news source:
»
Click Here for Contact Information
THE CONTENT OF THE ABOVE NEWS STORY WAS PROVIDED BY THE NEWS SOURCE WHO IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS ACCURACY. FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS STORY CONTACT THE NEWS SOURCE AND NOT SEND2PRESS (THIS WEBSITE).
O T H E R R E S O U R C E S
T E R M S O F U S E
This article is Copr. © 1983-2008 Neotrope / Send2Press. Reproduction of this news article version requires written authorization. You may freely link to this article. Journalists (see the section "Journalist Resources" above) may use orig. news release as the basis for an article.
News Websites may republish the "news release" text version linked to above under "Journalist Resources" except must retain "Send2Press Newswire" as the source of this news if used verbatim. Websites which offer/sell PR or newswire services, or web promotion services, or "splogs" may NOT reprint our content in ANY form. Send2Press Newswire is a service mark of, and "Send2Press" is a registered trademark of, Neotrope. Creative Commons - Some Rights Reserved (3.0) - Attribution Required.
DISCLAIMER: the above article is believed accurate but not guaranteed, and is based on business news supplied by the source (Becoming Tile, LLC). The noted source is solely responsible for its accuracy. Financial/Stock news may contain forward looking statements. Neotrope/Send2Press makes no claims of accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Any opinions expressed by representatives of company(s) mentioned in news and profiles are solely those of the person indicated, and do not reflect any opinion or policy of Neotrope or Send2Press. Your use of any information contained herein is done solely at your own risk, and you are fully responsible for using any information herein, or on sites mentioned or linked to in the article. All trademarks acknowledged.
REFERENCES: Largest Glass Tile Mural in America Wins Spectrum's First Prize at the Chicago Coverings Tile and Stone Exposition, Becoming Tile LLC, Mosaic Tile Supplies Inc, Keith DeWald, first place The Spectrum Awards, exterior mosaic mural on the Hong-Kong based, Wing Lung Bank, architects, installers, Neil Seth Levine, Tsang Architecture, Apr 23, 2007.
VIEWED BY MEDIA (and public): 2521 times (3 today, 15 this week,
83 this month, 711 this year)
|
 |
|