NTMA Awards:
The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences
Job of the Year, 2003/2004
Architect: Calloway, Johnson, Moore West, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Terrazzo Contractor: Roman Mosaic and Tile Company, Linthicum, Maryland
The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences houses the performing arts, visual arts and the sciences all under one roof - one of the few centers of its kind in the country. The Clay Center is one of the ambitious economic, cultural and educational undertakings in West Virginia’s history. The Clay Center will enhance the region’s “quality of life” and enrich the lives of all West Virginians. The 14,500 square feet of six-color epoxy terrazzo floor energizes the lobbies and main entrances. The terrazzo pattern has swirls and bands that pulsate in many directions. At the center of every swirl is a stainless steel disc. The color and contrast between the six epoxy colors and the chips are vibrant and breathtaking.
The Clay Center required a flooring system that was durable yet could incorporate the artistic designs needed for this space. Since this building is used mainly for entertainment functions, this exciting and bold pattern stands out when people are walking on it as well as looking down from balconies. The six colors are a mixture of marble chips, plastic chips, and mother of pearl. Divider strips are 3/8” x 1/8” heavy top zinc angle strips; all strips were slotted and bent on the job. The main stairway has 1/2” thick pre-cast epoxy terrazzo tread and risers.
Bethesda Academy of Performing ArtsHonor Award
Architect: Wood and Zapata, Boise, Idaho
Terrazzo Contractor: Roman Mosaic and Tile Company, Linthicum, Maryland
Designer/Artist: Heidi Lippman, Boise, Idaho
Washington area artist Heidi M. Lippman designed and oversaw the layering of a 4,000 square-foot terrazzo floor, called “Imagination and Discovery,” in the new Imagination Stage, located in downtown Bethesda. The floor is one unique aspect of an architecturally significant building by Boston-based architects Wood + Zapata. The building - striking in both its visual beauty and its purpose - is a theatre arts center serving young people and their families.
The terrazzo material is composed of an epoxy “medium”. It is 3/8” thick and a vivid blue color with a wide variety of glass and stone chips from all over the country, adding color and depth. The floor is particular in its emphasis on the quality and depth of color and texture as well as the complexity of its zinc divider strips. Lippman says designing the floor “was similar to doing a 4,000 square foot drawing. I was seeking emphasis on how truly rich this material and concept could be.”
The concept uses forms described by the Fibonacci sequence - an infinite set of numbers that never repeats. Through the centuries, this mathematical sequence has been discovered in the spiral growth of seashells and the complex petal formations of certain flowers and has been utilized by artists, musicians and poets to convey perfect harmony within their works. Lippman uses the Fibonacci sequence in teh flooring of Imagination Stage to symbolize growth and development, reflecting Imagination State to symbolize growth and envelopment, reflecting Imagination Stage’s goal of creating a place where all creativity is nurtured and all talents respected. Lippman sees her design as “a metaphor for the unique qualities of each individual as they contribute t