Surfaces

Cracked Earth by Hugo Bugg for KAZA Concrete

KAzA CONCRETE; SIMON JESSOP

Debuting at this year's Chelsea Flower Show in Hugo Bugg's gold-medal winner, the RBC Waterscape Garden, Cracked Earth concrete floor tile highlighted an extraordinary bespoke floor surfacing solution set in an innovative and sustainable design environment. Hugo Bugg designed the Waterscape Garden to highlight global water issues by mimicking nature's way of slowing down water flow, featuring a seamless cracked-earth hard floor to establish the main theme. Drawing inspiration from the parched effects caused by extreme global weather, the design is layered with naturally occurring geometric patterns. KAzA Concrete, closely working with Bugg, designed the technical background and manufactured the seamless cracked-earth motif in form of refined and reinforced concrete mosaic tiles. Two types of mosaic-like element sets make the Cracked Earth pattern, each of 54 different small cracked-earth pieces. Each piece is individually manufactured, surface treated and applied to a carrier layer. This enables quick and easy installation without being permanently fixed to the ground, while creating a seamless arrangement. The Cracked Earth mosaic is an ideal surfacing solution for courtyards, terraces and walkways of contemporary commercial environments where the floor covering aims to leave visitors with a bold impression, raises questions and provides an even surface for walking on. Installation on internal and external vertical surfaces is also possible, with Cracked Earth serving as a nature-inspired contemporary feature wall, for example, in a museum or university campus. Bugg's colour choice of light grey adds a layer of weightlessness to the contemporary concept while showing how sustainable design can be elegant.

The judges said:
'Innovative, thought-provoking and practical - all the requisites of a winner'
'Practical but also aesthetically pleasing'

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