Surface Design Show, London.
Mizzi Studio and Halmann Vella Ltd team up with international firm Vicalvi Contacts to showcase traditional Terrazzo at 2020 Surface Design Show in London.
Architectural Terrazzo which is locally manufactured and exported internationally by Halmann Vella Ltd, was the protagonist of the Vicalvi ‘Love Terrazzo’ stand at the 2020 Surface Design Show in London, the leading event for architects and designers to explore the best in surface material innovation.
The nature-infused ‘Terrazzo Garden’ was designed by Mizzi Studio in a way that showcases the versatility, tactile quality, and aesthetic appeal of terrazzo whilst offering an interactive space that encourages human exploration and interest.
The display featured a series of incrementally heightened terrazzo columns, with a colour scheme drawing on colour trends that are dominant in today’s design and architectural world. As the columns fan outward from their lowest point at the centre, they grow taller and lighter in colour, creating a landscape of complementary chromatic gradients. The uniformity of the columns’ diameter is echoed by a circular brass-inlay pattern on the base of the installation, with glistening tones that offer a pleasant contrast against the earthy brown terrazzo.
The entire space was backed with a moss wall, which amplifies the richness of the terrazzo through its tonal and material contrast. Finally, a selection of plants was placed at the edge of the terrazzo wave, housed within spherically recessed columns that function as over-sized planters.
“When we were approached to design an installation out of this timeless material, we knew we wanted to be as experimental as possible,” said Mizzi Studio Director, Jonathan Mizzi. “By introducing colour, height variation and the integration of organic elements, we knew we could create something really distinctive and unexpected. We wanted to put forward not just a beautiful showpiece, but an interactive space that people felt compelled to inhabit – something that visitors would want to explore through sight, smell and touch”.
The Terrazzo Garden manufactured by Halmann Vella Ltd makes use of five blocks of terrazzo, rendered in five unique colours. Each of the pre-cast terrazzo columns was created through specialist cutting and faceting of large-scale blocks in Malta, with facets being water-jetted to achieve their final smooth cylindrical appearance.
“Terrazzo tiles are an integral part of our company history as they were first crafted by my grandfather and his brother in our original plant in Mgarr back in 1954” said Hugh Vella – Director of Operations. “Architectural Terrazzo offers a solution where the unique material which is produced locally can be customized and transformed to the desired form. Being traditionally constructed using marble, quartz, glass, and granite off-cuts, terrazzo offers considerable sustainable advantages in addition to its visual and tactile quality. It was a pleasure to collaborate with industry leaders Mizzi Studio and Vicalvi and have the opportunity to showcase Architectural Terrazzo in a unique manner through this interactive Terrazzo display,” added Owen Farrugia – Director of Sales and Business Management.
The Surface Design Show was held between 11th and 13th February 2020 at the Business Design Centre in London. Visit Surface Design Show for more information.
About Terrazzo Blocks
Halmann Vella manufactures cement-based Architectural Terrazzo blocks using a block casting plant. The casting process involves mixing, vibration and vacuum to ensure a high-quality homogeneous mix. Following casting and the standard curing time, the blocks measuring 3m x 1.2m x 0.7m are ready for further processing. The blocks can be transformed into slabs or organic 3D elements. The size of the block lends itself to the creation of large-format tiles, vanity tops, counters, toilet cubicles and curbs at a lower cost and better quality, when compared to casting into individual moulds. This method is by far the most cost-effective manner of producing stairs and cladding.
A versatile terrazzo cement composite surface design is ideal for the following applications; ventilated façade cladding, stairs, internal and external cladding, floors, washroom and shower-trays, custom shapes, large formats and cut to size.
Terrazzo blocks age well and long lasting; a re-polish can bring its look back to its original state. This highly versatile material is a complete surfacing and sustainable solution.
Halmann Vella is a pioneer in sustainable manufacturing in Malta. With their production powered by solar energy generating capacity to meet its demands as well as being net producers to the national grid. 98% of the volume of water used during processing is recycled, with a 2% loss into the atmosphere through evaporation. In addition to these efforts, the raw materials used are with recycled from their natural stone production line or is from the rejected materials from quarries, which is not of the quality for blocks and therefore is crushed and used for this process.
Additional to that, the raw materials used are either recycled from the company’s natural stone production line or is from the rejected material from quarries, which is not of the quality for blocks and therefore is crushed and used for this process.
