Surface Design Awards – Complete

• INTERIOR SURFACE OF THE YEAR - NEW
  This is a new category that recognises wall, floor, ceiling and surface design products, including decorative, creative and inventive surfaces for the interior of buildings including both commercial and residential properties.

Using old bricks and natural stone from across the British Isles and a low carbon alternative to OPC binder, Ethical Stone Terrazzo is the Manchester made terrazzo floor tile with a significantly lower impact than European origin terrazzo.

Terrazzo was originally conceived as a way to use up discarded marble chips and aggregates. Now, with the advent of Ethical Stone Terrazzo’s low carbon cement technology, architects and designers have the opportunity to upcycle materials from UK quarries and old buildings and repurpose them into new terrazzo surfaces. The process uses significantly less CO2 in production and transportation over European products.

The origin of every Ethical Stone tile can be traced to the British Isles. With marble from the Isle of Skye, pink limestone from Devon, black Welsh slate and Derbyshire limestone, Ethical Stone is a unique and beautiful British take on classic terrazzo tiles in effects that simply can’t be recreated.

Each of the natural stones used comes with a unique heritage – the white marble of the Isle of Skye was once sent to Italy to be used as a rival to fine calacatta marble and Welsh black slate has been recognised as one of the finest slates in the world since Roman times. These unique histories and strong natural features, bring an unmistakable quality to Ethical Stone Terrazzo.

Ethical Stone Terrazzo is also available with recycled materials, including Manchester red brick and glass, again bringing a unique look. Finishes available include honed (slip-resistant), diamond brushed (slip-resistant) and polished. The floor tile comes in a range of sizes from 300 x 300mm up to 597 x 597mm.

Making Ethical Stone in Manchester means a reduced transportation carbon footprint for UK-based tile specifications – over 90% of the UK market is within a 200-mile radius – and also brings low carbon innovation to an 80-year history of terrazzo manufacturing in the city. The result is a terrazzo tile that supports UK industry in producing low carbon materials.

Finding new life for old building materials and localising production within the UK’s second largest city, Manchester Brick is a highlight of the low impact approach of Ethical Stone Terrazzo and is made with 85% recycled materials. And it’s not just old brick that can be reused: glass, metal, concrete, stone and even timber can all be materials used in production. Ethical Stone also uses a low carbon alternative to traditional Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), the most used construction material in the world. By utilising a by-product of the steel industry, this alternative reduces reliance on OPC by up to 50%. For every tonne of Ordinary Portland Cement, 900kg of CO2 is produced. The alternative used in Ethical Stone Terrazzo produces just 450kg of CO2.

Ethical Stone is the Manchester made terrazzo with a CO2 delivery footprint into London that’s 76% less than terrazzo sourced from Europe. Transporting Ethical Stone Terrazzo by road from Manchester to London produces 609kg of CO2 emissions, while transport from Italy, where most commercial terrazzo tiles are produced, uses 2,600kg CO2.

In Manchester Brick, Welsh Slate, Burlington Green Slate and Portland Stone Limestone, Ethical Stone Terrazzo is made with 85% recycled materials.