Location:The Shard London SE1
Product Supplied: 600 x 600 x 30mm Landstone Clay Fully Vitrified Porcelain Tiles with bespoke rebated groove on all edges to permit mechanical restraints

In collaboration with Buzon UK Limited

Mudrak and Sons are extremely proud to have been involved in supplying bespoke 600 x 600 x 30mm porcelain tiles for the prestigious View From The Shard viewing platform, one of the highest and most challenging installations of porcelain tiles in the UK!

Working in very close conjunction with leading global adjustable pedestal manufacturer Buzon UK Limited, the tiles had to have a bespoke, precision made 9 x 3.5mm groove applied to all four edges, to enable them to be fixed to their A-PED & ALUrail system with hidden wind restraints.

This was necessary for the tiles to be secured, and for the entire installation to comply with the stringent regulations and technical demands necessary for an installation at this height, open to the elements avoiding any risk of tiles being dislodged due to wind uplift.

The tile specification was drawn up in conjunction with Woods Hardwick Architects over 3 years ago, and due to the highly technical nature of the application, complex structure of the substrate, and other factors associated with the construction of The Shard, had to be modified several times before it was finally approved.

Apart from the installation itself, the logistics of getting materials delivered to The Shard, and up to the 72nd Floor where the platform is located, was phenomenally challenging.

31 pallets of tiles had to be delivered direct from Italy to dedicated storage facilities in South East London, and delivered in maximum 2-3 Pallet consignments at agreed times of the day and using dedicated vehicles due to limited access.

Due to the manner in which The Shard was constructed, and the restrictive size of the lifts, there was no access directly to the 72nd floor, and all of the tiles had to be taken in a number of different lifts giving access to various levels, and then carried individually up the last few floors to the site. No mean feat given the tiles weighed 68.47kg per Square Metre!

Buzon UK Limited were employed to install the tiles, working alongside Fiducia Interiors. The quality of the workmanship was absolutely outstanding as can be seen from the finished result, but they were also instrumental in conveying all of the technical requirements that had to be met from the initial concept through to completion of the project!

This was an extremely challenging project to be involved with on so many different levels, but has been delivered successfully with the close collaboration of all parties.

A proud moment for the Mudrak & Sons team!