LATICRETE, a manufacturer of innovative systems for the installation of ceramic tile and stone, provided a GREENGUARD certified installation system for the 5,050 square feet of SICIS mosaic glass tiles installed by the Des Moines Marble & Mantel Co. as the exterior façade of the 10-story Paragon Prairie Tower in Urbandale, IA. The LATICRETE System was supplied locally by Pete Bird at the Sunderland Brothers Co.
At Coverings 2008, 21 winning projects were honored with an annual Spectrum or Prism Award for imaginative and visionary use of tile and stone. The Paragon Prairie Tower project took home a Spectrum Award in the category of Commercial — Mosaic/Glass Tile.
Owned by R&R Realty in Des Moines and designed by David Dahlquist from RDG Dahlquist Art Studio, the 118-foot-tall Paragon Prairie Tower was created to provide a new destination icon for the state of Iowa and to pay homage to the native tall grass prairies that once covered much of what today is Iowa farmland. Des Moines Marble & Mantel Co. installed 1.8 million pieces of 5/8-inch by 5/8-inch mosaic glass tiles with the LATICRETE System in trying circumstances which included wind, rain, humidity, and extreme heights.
The Sunderland Brothers Co. supplied Des Moines Marble & Mantel Co. with LEED compliant setting materials from LATICRETE, including LATICRETE 9235 Waterproofing Membrane, LATICRETE 254 Platinum and LATICRETE SpectraLOCK PRO Grout. The finished project is now recognized as the largest exterior mosaic glass mural installation in the U.S.
