The historic tile that is making a comeback
Making waves in the industry and beyond as one of the most sustainable material choices available… Terrazzo is unlike the other eco-friendly materials on the market. Rather than being compostable, faux, or engineered in a lab, it originates from 16th century Venice!
Created – you could say, almost accidentally – mosaic workers used chips of waste marble or granite to pave the surroundings of their homes. The chips were set into cement, with all colours mixed together which created a playful yet intricately beautiful floor.
Ever since it burst on the scene at the Milan Design Fair 2014, manufacturers have been expanded the terrazzo aesthetic and pushed its designs to new and exciting heights.
With the creation of slabs and tiles, it can now be used on many commercial and household surfaces – ranging anywhere from breakfast bars to bathroom walls. The scale and pattern of the detail varies from traditional chips, to monochrome geometric patterns, to oversized blocks of elegant marble. The designs can be discussed prior to production, meaning the tiles can be matched to existing colour schemes and the combinations on offer are now endless!
Perhaps the most exciting design development within the terrazzo world is the transition away from marble.
Britain based Foresso make their terrazzo from waste wood chips and 0% VOC resin, and Dutch company Super Local create their furniture from glass that would otherwise have ended up in landfill.
Some may argue that altering the colours, shapes and materials changes the DNA of terrazzo, but marble is a finite resource and our climate change situation has changed drastically since the 16th century. What’s more, marble was a prominent waste material of that era, and the components of terrazzo should remain relevant to the current waste materials of our time. Hopefully we will begin to see a rise in terrazzo sheets, tiles, and furniture, all made from recycled plastics!
Image credits in order of appearance: Cancian (cover image), In Opera, Ideal Work, Slow Roads, Marble Buro, Pinterest, 1st Dibs, Foresso, Eskayel, Super Local
