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Ebony Basalt Lynia Tiles for Large Monument Sign
First impressions matter and that’s especially true when it comes to colleges and universities. Not only do they want to appeal to both the prospective student, who might be more interested in the college being perceived as “cool”, but equally appeal to the prospective student’s parents who are probably most interested in making sure the college is going to set their child up for success during their tenure and in the future. A small college on the West Coast of Florida worked with one of our tile distributors many years ago to replace the aging signage at the main entrance to their campus. A modern look and color scheme was desired and the product selected was our Basalt Ebony Lynia Interlocking Tile.
The sign itself, shown under construction in the photo above, is a long and linear blade wall that sits on a large elevated sill. The design of the wall really fits well with the layout and sizing of the Lynia Interlocking wall tiles which consist of nine strips that are each twelve inches long and come in three different heights, mesh mounted onto a backer system with an interlocking pattern. The Lynia Interlocking tiles create a very long linear look which was perfect for the scale and size of the sign.
Color also played an important part in selecting material for this project. The great contrast between the formed white concrete sill and dark black of the Ebony Basalt Lynia Interlocking tiles is a classic color combination that looks stylish and modern in the design of this monument sign. The Lynia Tiles are then grouted, the grout color selected here being a slightly lighter grey than the Ebony of the stone itself, which creates a nice contrast without the super precise spacing demands a white or similar light colored grout would create.
The blade wall of the sign is essentially one CMU block wide, and since the Ebony Basalt Interlocking Tiles were meant to go on all four sides of the blade wall, the short edges needed some thought and consideration by the installation team. A couple years ago we ended up making pre-fabricated outside corner units for the Lynia Interlocking tile series, but this installation took place well before that and still achieved a great result using a technique where the installer “framed in” the outside corner using strips of the tile set vertically. These single vertical strips were pulled right off the backer of a regular field unit and can easily be miter cut or simply but joined into another vertical strip to form the corner. Once the vertical strips “frame” the outside corners, the Lynia Interlocking tile is installed and simply terminates into the strip in a straight cut. On the short end of the blade wall the installation team chose simply to run straight pieces across and not bother trying to show any of the pattern of the Lynia tile since the relative space with which they had to tile here was so small.
The end result, with the signage mounted on the stone wall and the area re-landscaped is beautiful. This sign is big enough to easily catch your attention when driving down the road and the great design and overall beauty of it matches the spirit of the great college that it represents. One of the exceedingly cool things we get to do is see Norstone projects not just during or after they get installed, but years later, which happened to me recently with this particular project. On my way to and from a family vacation at the beach I got a chance to pass by this signage many times and can confirm it looks just as great as it did during these installation photos and also looks amazing both during the day and at a nighttime.
Natural stone is a great choice for monument signage because it is not only incredibly durable and will likely last until the next re-design, it also creates a strong connection between the timeless style and durability of natural stone and whatever or whomever the signage represents. Whether its a prestigious college, the entrance to a neighborhood, or the reception desk at your favorite restaurant, natural stone tiles make a great first impression.
