On Curvy Walls and Stone Slabs

Photo by myself in Chelsea, around little West 12th Street and Washington Street.

I'm not 100% of the location of the new apartment building above. I think I took the photo near High Line Gansevoort entrance, a month ago.

I'm sure the building exterior is nearly complete by now. When planned well in advance, the process of putting in glass takes little time.

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It's hard for me to believe that I haven't been outside my apartment in over a week. Eek.

I feel nearly 100% now, making my way back from the chicken pox. The sad thing is that I look nothing near normal. I look like one of those zombies that's just climbed out of the cemetery, looking for lunch (!).

Anyway, I wanted to share some photos of a field trip from last week, before I fell sick, to a stone yard outside New York City. The warehouse was huge, filled with slabs of marble, granite, onyx, quartzite and other gorgeous stones.



I went with my boss and the client, to look at slabs we had reserved, before placing the final order. These slabs were pretty large, about 6' by 8' pieces, all stacked against each other.

When you wanted to see a slab, two men would find it in the warehouse, and slip two belts attached to a winch around the stone. The winch picked up the belts, hauling the slab high up in the air. The slab would be brought to the front of the stack.

It was incredible just to wander around the warehouse, looking at these gorgeous pieces of stone. I was absolutely flabbergasted.

Some stone looked too gorgeous to be cut into countertops or bathtub decks, fireplaces or floors. Some looked unreal. Others looked like paintings.






Above, a little difficult to understand, but there is a red ladder leaning up against the stone, which itself reminds me of Van Gogh's Starry Night.

Fortunately all the stone we had reserved looked great. The client was very pleased, and I was relieved.

Related posts: On Public Art at the Lever House, Building for a Greener Environment and Architecture, a Glorified Profession.