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Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Installation

2/21/2020

In December 2019, after months of careful planning and preparation, everything was ready for the final installation of the Maple Ridge Community Mosaic. The installation of the three mosaic walls took seven days.

Community Mosaic on the shower wall adjacent to the main swimming pool at MRLC

Laser levels and spacers are used to make sure that the entire artwork is straight and evenly spaced

Sections of the shower wall mosaic are unboxed and prepared for installation

Tony applying fresh thinset to the waiting area wall ready to set mosaic sections

Rebecca calculating final measurements and custom cuts

Tony cutting tiles on the wet saw

Rebecca inspecting the waiting area wall

David and Tony hand-setting the edge details

Rebecca and Tony finishing the reception area mosaic

David removing the clear face tape from set tiles

Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Artwork Assembly

2/20/2020

When all the custom tiles had been extruded, baked, glazed, re-fired and ready, we began assembling the Maple Ridge Community Mosaics.

The twelve custom colours for the Maple Ridge Community Mosaic

The mosaics are prepared in small sections that are numbered and correspond to coordinates on a large map. Each of the ~14,500 custom made tiles are laid by hand, carefully following the design and using special templates to make sure that the tiles are evenly spaced. After each section has been laid, it gets checked, covered with a layer of clear face tape, coded, mounted to a protective card and boxed ready for transport to Maple Ridge.

Checking the details to ensure a perfect fit

Quality Control

Test layout

Applying face tape and section code

Marking boxes for shipment

Loading 1500lbs of artwork into the cargo van

Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Made to Measure

2/18/2020

The Maple Ridge Community Mosaic is installed in three locations inside the newly renovated Maple Ridge Leisure Centre; the main reception area, the waiting area outside the change rooms and also at the shower wall on the main pool deck. Careful measurements are needed throughout the entire design and installation process to make sure that all three mosaics fit as precisely as possible onto the renovated walls.

Inspecting the reception area wall during the MRLC renovations. Summer 2019

Inspecting the waiting area wall during the MRLC renovations. Summer 2019

Inspecting the pool shower area wall during the MRLC renovations. Summer 2019

MRLC Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Made to measure

Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Tile Manufacturing

2/4/2020

We worked closely with Interstyle Ceramic + Glass to develop unique ceramic glazes to match the twelve Maple Ridge Community Mosaic colours as closely as possible. The twelve colours used for this project were selected from the palette of landscape colours we received over Fall 2018 from public photo submissions.

Triangle tile colour matching samples

Mixing 12 bespoke colour glazes and firing the ~14,500 tiles needed is a complicated task and Interstyle are industry experts.

Interstyle is a family owned and operated tile manufacturer located in Burnaby, BC. They have been in operation since 1977 and are among the only tile manufactures remaining in Canada.

Interstyle Ceramic + Glass. Burnaby, BC.

The Maple Ridge Community Mosaic will use equilateral tiles specially made for this project from Earthenglass, a tile produced from powdered recycled glass and locally sourced clays.

Blank tile bisque

Rebecca inspecting the tile bisque

Sheets of ‘Maple Ridge Dark Green’ triangle tiles

Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Installation

Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Artwork Assembly

Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Made to Measure

Maple Ridge Community Mosaic: Tile Manufacturing

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