• Creative Endeavors,  Featured

    Virginia Tile appoints leader to continue growth

    Virginia Tile Company, a leading provider of porcelain, ceramic, stone, glass, metal, and mosaic design solutions headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, recently announced the appointment of David G. Burke as its new Chief Financial Officer. Burke, who brings more than 20 years of experience in corporate leadership across a number of industries, will oversee the strategic guidance and overall direction of…

  • Design Spotlight,  Featured,  Print Edition

    Refractory

    For Refractory’s inaugural body of work and inception—forged at a moment of unprecedented change—its muse sings of a reverence for a frontier unbridled by time, when mountains were new, sandstone buttes clustered, continents drifted, and oceans receded. It speaks of mountain ranges, canyons, basins, and plateaus, shaped by deep-rooted geologic pressures and carved by powerful movements of rivers and wind.…

  • Featured,  Form,  Print Edition

    Waterfront glassworks

    “To me, architectural design is the culmination of so many things—art, sculpture, engineering, mechanics, ecology—and the concept of taking a client’s dream, turning that into lines on paper, and then transforming it into a massive piece of engineered art that someone lives inside of for years is extremely gratifying,” said Kevin Akey, owner of AZD Associates Architects Inc. in Bloomfield…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured

    The tile experience

    Since its founding in 1928, Virginia Tile Company has become a leading distributor of domestic and imported tile in the Midwest, representing the finest manufacturers and suppliers in the industry. From its two distribution hubs, one in Livonia, Michigan and the other in Kansas City, Kansas, the company services 14 states with its premier selections of porcelain, stone, glass, ceramic,…

  • Featured,  Form

    Design by tile

    Tiles as an interior finish can bring a distinct style to the built environment. Whether through the clean and contemporary aesthetic of lacquered subway tile or in a punch of vibrant color carried on through an untraditional pattern, there are nearly endless possibilities for crafting the personality of a residence using tile as a medium. At the Michigan Design Center…

  • Creative Endeavors,  Featured,  Form

    Light inspiration

    Artistic parallels are often drawn to architecture, building on a core function that began as a shelter building practice. It has offered opportunities for the creation of artistic and poetic alludes through structure, and modern materials—and their innovative evolution—have furthered the tradition when things such as acoustics or light are applied to a space.  What began as a poetic exploration…