Commission 10 · Architectural stonework
Inlay borders & floor medallions
أرضيات مطعمة
Waterjet inlay is where a floor stops being a surface and becomes a piece of work. Pieces are cut to a tenth of a millimetre and dry-laid face down in the workshop, so what arrives on site is a finished panel rather than three hundred loose fragments and an optimistic tiler.
How it is built
Greek key, rosettes, compass roses and your own drawing.
- The drawing is nested and cut on the waterjet. Kerf is allowed for so the pieces close on a hairline rather than a grout line.
- The panel is dry-laid, checked, then mesh-backed as one unit. It goes down like a large tile.
- Colour is chosen from real slabs under the actual lighting. Stone does not behave like a swatch on a screen.
| Cut | Waterjet, ±0.1 mm, kerf-compensated |
|---|---|
| Assembly | Dry-laid and mesh-backed as one panel |
| Typical | Borders 100–300 mm, medallions 800–2400 mm |
Worth knowing before you order
Set out the pattern against the room, not the wall. A medallion centred on the wrong axis is visible forever.
Stone
What it is cut from.
Contrast carries a pattern, not colour. A red and cream Greek key reads from across a lobby; two beiges of similar value disappear.
Black Aswan
Dense black with a subtle grey crystal.
Galala Extra
The selected, lightest and most uniform grade of Galala.
Red Aswan Dark
The deep oxblood grade, with heavy black mineral.
Imperial Grey
Silver-grey ground lit by pale crystalline veining.
Bianco Halayeb
Pale grey-white granite with fine dark speckle.
Verde Ghazal Light
Olive green at a lighter value, with more pale feldspar.
These are stones we hold. See all 94
Not a drawing
One of ours, already built.
Everything above is a drawing, because a drawing promises a capability and nothing more. This is a photograph of a piece we actually made.
Also in architectural stonework
Other commissions.
Columns, bases & capitals
Turned drums, moulded plinths, and cladding that reads as solid.
Fireplace surround
The one piece in the room everyone faces.
Stair treads & helical stringers
Including the ones that curve, which is a different job entirely.
Book-matched & quad-matched panels
Consecutive slabs opened like a book so the vein mirrors.