Saint Matthew's Church, Malmo, Sweden

The most beautiful church floor I know is that of Saint Matthew's in Malmo, Sweden.  I'm not that engaged with the rest of the 1983 structure by architect Sten Samuelson , but the interior work--long pale semicircular pews and a font by Swedish glassmaker Kosta--is sublime.

And such care was taken with the floor...an attention rarely seen past the days of the medieval encaustic tiles.  These circular ceramic tiles are handmade, by Swedish ceramacist duo Gutstav and Ulla Klaitz.  Note how their dappled color deepens under the pews and in circles around the font and pulpit, subtly defining these spaces.

Take a good look, too, at how removing the heavy 'legs' traditionally seen on wooden pews modernizes their look.  I've mentioned before  that this is a wonderful way to use pews--which have many benefits as church seating--in a fresh way.   These pews appear to float on blue supports that not only blend into the floor but also reference the  painted pews traditionally found in Swedish churches.

All photos by Anders Bengtsson, via flickr.

Children's Space Carpets

Our new children's house design is a combination of closed classrooms and open classrooms around a central gathering space.  For that space, I love these new carpets by Italian designer Luca Nichetto  with Japanese studio Nendo.  So versatile, since they can be laid overlapping or apart, and do you see how you can line up the kiddos by having them each sit or stand on one of the circles?  So helpful for choir time! I'd love to have these for softening the floor in the classroom spaces, to be brought out into the larger space as needed.  

via dezeen.

Floorazzo - Terrazzo on the cheap

Terrazzo is a traditional go-to choice for high-density traffic areas because of its durability and low-maintenance. It also looks great and is highly customizable. If you've been in an airport, you've stood on terrazzo, basically marble chips embedded in a binder that used to be cement but is now polymer resin. It's a great option for churches, but oh-so-expensive, mostly due to the specialized labor costs associated with pouring it in place.

Now, Floorazzo is offering terrazzo on the cheap; basically 24x24 format low-profile tiles that fit together with barely visible seams. Still customizable in both color and pattern but at a fraction of the cost of traditional terrazzo. Sample tiles available to 'commercial property owners', which should include churches.

Oh, and it can be put on walls as well. Bathroom maintenance...always a vexing church issue.

Check their website, which hopefully soon will have a better gallery of pictures.

[via materialicious]