Queens Quay remake begins
Porphyry like natural stone cobbles and setts are front and center in several of Waterfront Toronto’s projects, adding permanence, beauty and creating a fundamental sense of place. The role of natural stone is evident throughout many of the projects. Granite is used in these, but porphyry could be substituted for the same durable and attractive […]
Porphyry Featured in new Diesel Headquarters
Porphyry stone pavers were chosen for the pedestrian walkways and gardens of the new Diesel Headquarters. It is located in Breganze, a town in the northern Italian province of Vicenza. Diesel S.p.A. is an Italian design company. It is best known for luxury, ready to wear, clothing aimed at the young adult market. The architect for the […]
Porphyry and New City Spaces
Porphyry and other stone pavers are throughout this book about important examples of urban public spaces worldwide. The upsurge in interest in public spaces and public life over the past twenty five years has generated an impressive array of city plans, public space strategies, and designs. This book presents an overview of this development and […]
Porphyry and Urban Streets
“We go back to some streets more often than to others… maybe a street unlocks memories or offers expectation of something pleasant to be seen…streets are places of social and commercial encounter and exchange…a place to be comforted by the presence of others.” – From Great Streets by Allan B Jacobs Porphyry pavers have been used […]
Porphyry and the Color of the Year 2013
Porphyry paving and the green lushness of the landscape go hand in hand. “Green is the most abundant hue in nature – the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum, as it has throughout history, multifaceted Emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate. Symbolically, Emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal […]
Porphyry and the Quality of Place
Can beautiful Porphyry pavers make you smarter, more creative and like your community more? From three diverse expert sources comes information about how the built environment affects people and why it matters. Academy for Neuroscience for Architecture This is admittedly an abstract concept, to help explain, architects often tell this story: Early in his career, when […]
Porphyry, Walt Disney and the Architecture of Reassurance
Porphyry and What Walt Disney knew about cities. Walt Disney knew the impact on the senses of cobblestoned streets and plazas. In recent years Disney-urbanism has colonized authentic cities. Urban entertainment districts such as South Street Seaport in New York, Quincy Market in Boston, and Harbor Place in Baltimore are good examples. South Street Seaport […]
Porphyry, Placemaking and Public Space
Porphyry stone paving can be an essential ingredient, one of many, that contributes the element of permanence, beauty and sustainability to a place. It is a material that defines a space as comfortable, memorable, elegant and special. It helps people want to go there. Public spaces are increasingly being recognized as a crucial ingredient for […]
Porphyry salutes award winning Sugar Beach
The use of traditional stone similar to Porphyry pavers are part of the award winning design of this urban park. Canada’s Sugar Beach is a whimsical new park that transformed a surface parking lot in a former industrial area into Toronto’s second urban beach at the water’s edge. Part of the multi-faceted Waterfront Toronto project […]
Porphyry spotlights Via Manin project
The Porphyry setts, used on Via Manin are unique in terms of physical, chemical, geological and mineralogical properties with features that distinguish it from all other stones. Via Manin is located in the heart of Mestre. It is an important road that ends up in Piazza Ferretto, the elegant center of this Veneto city. Via […]
