Title Photo by Jordan Inskeep
The massive renovation of Columbus, Ohio’s 200 Civic Center lobby (formerly the Columbus Gas building, constructed in 1983) needed to achieve a modern and transformative aesthetic — but it also had to be completed with efficiency to meet a tight deadline. The team of architectural firm Behal Sampson Dietz turned to an important and relatively new category of tile, porcelain tile panels, to completely alter the expansive lobby floor with the right look and within the timeline.
photo credit: Jordan Inskeep
The outer dimensions of porcelain tile panels, sometimes referred to as “thin tile,” reach upward of three feet by 10 feet (one meter by three meters), yet come in lean profiles of as little as 5.6 millimeters for floors. Providing the technical characteristics expected of porcelain tile such as stain- and wear-resistance as well as such generous, versatile proportions, porcelain tile panels are increasingly popular as a surfacing material for commercial and residential spaces.
At 200 Civic Center, the original lobby floor and walls were covered in travertine that didn’t appeal to modern design sensibilities. Even more importantly, the travertine, ¾-inch-thick and set in a two-inch mud bed, would be impossible to remove within the project’s timeline and budget constraints.
The designers opted to leave the wall travertine and stain it white to create a more current, fresh look and install new flooring material to truly transform the space. The flooring material would be required to correspond with the look of the soon-to-be-stained travertine and also allow for installation atop the in-place travertine flooring.
Designers selected Laminam by Crossville’s I Naturali Pietra Di Savoia in two sizes — three feet by three feet (one meter square) and three feet by 10 feet (one meter by three meters). Because the lobby’s 4,000-square-foot space is configured in an irregular shape, the two sizes of Laminam porcelain tile panels were used to create a centered pattern in which the peripheral tiles — cut into thirds — took the shape of the original floor plate. The large format of the Laminam allowed the design team to be sensitive to the scale of the space while capturing the appearance of a much more expensive slab material.
To install the porcelain tile panels, the installation team sanded down the natural stone and applied Laticrete’s Hydro Ban, a waterproofing and crack-isolation membrane. Then the Laminam panels were set using Latricrete 254 Platinum thin set mortar. This approach resulted in an efficient, beautiful installation that gives the space a totally new look yet did not require demoing of the previously installed material.
The porcelain tile panels’ nuanced details and colors proved to be a beautiful coordinate to the freshly stained walls. All the updates and new elements worked together to transform the lobby into an inviting, unique space that will take 200 Civic Center into the future with the class and quality the storied, downtown building deserves.
