Marble Supplier Visit
August 2017
By Mike Slade
At Archio we aim to take the time to design in detail, knowing material processes, and testing finishes with samples and materials boards where possible. We find that being able to actually see and touch proposed materials gives our clients far greater insight and understanding into the end design, and is a vital part of our design process.
Our Uxbridge Road project in Shepherd's Bush is the conversion of an existing bakery and house into two flats, a maisonette and a retail unit. We are overseeing the project on site, as the high quality of the living accommodation is particularly important. For the design and finish of the vanity shelf units of this project we recently visited a stone and marble supplier with our client, in order to inspect and specify the exact slab required.
Given that the shelf top marble pieces required for this project were fairly narrow, we were looking to find a more cost effective way of using this more expensive material, by visiting the supplier to review slab offcuts. We visited Stone World, a large wholesale stone supplier in West London, who supply slabs with a variety of grains and hues.
Once the client had chosen a material, we then gave this information to H&L Marble, who quoted for the templating, cutting, polishing and finish of the final vanity top pieces. The process not only gave us insight into the various specifications and 1:1 details of the material, but also into the supply chain and finishing processes behind these designed items. Discussing this firsthand with a supplier is a great way to learn in detail about materials; to understand their advantages, parameters and drawbacks.
