Wilkinson Office/Warehouse Reconstruction
Phoenix, Arizona USA
Studio Michael P. Johnson Design

Le Cromie Lavagna porcelain tile by Marazzi

Design Competition 2005 Commercial Winner
The Wilkinson Office/Warehouse's drab and uninteresting facade presented the perfect opportunity to utilize this innovative cladding system and to give the building a fresh new look. Originally the lower portion of the facade (8'-0") had an exposed aggregate finish with a disjointed array of windows and doors. A 134'-0" long 40" steel beam was used to unify the door and window openings.
The addition of the steel beam became the benchmark for the ventilated wall system, which now wraps the entire building. Marazzi Lavagna Levigato, a large format black polished porcelain tile 2' x3' was selected as cladding due to the reflective quality of the product.
As anticipated by the designer, the tile mirrors the sky and vegetation surrounding the site. As Johnson puts it, "By enhancing a non-descript structure via the use of a few simple gestures and ceramic tile, architecture was created."