Michael Anastassiades’ studio was commissioned to design the installation by London Design Festival founders and Portuguese cultural association, experimentadesign.
It acts as a permanent landmark for the annual design festival, and is located on the edge of a park on Mint Street in the borough of Southwark.
The strips of recycled marble cover only the central portion of the street, laid out to resemble a red carpet spread out for an event. The precious rose, cream and black slats of marble are juxtaposed with the rough tarmacked surface of the road, like a precious jewel inlaid in wood.
“I wanted to create a simple gesture that used the natural beauty of Portuguese Rosa marble along with other distinctive tonalities,” says Anastassiades. “Similar to how a carpet delineates a space or marks a path, I imagined the tiled road rolling out on the street, connecting the park to the remaining neighbourhood.”
The marble, deemed too flawed for commercial use, was supplied by Portuguese companies Mármores Galrão and Dimpomar.
“Much of marble quarried is rejected as imperfect by contractors, architects and designers. It is a scandalous waste of a beautiful raw material. This project shows what can be done by creating a new permanent street of rejected marble”, says LFD director Ben Evans.