Philadelphia — Daltile, an industry-leading brand of ceramic, porcelain, glass, metal, and natural stone tile products, has opened the doors to a new design studio in downtown Philadelphia. The design studio is the first of its kind from Daltile to open in the Northeast, and will serve as a valuable resource for designers and customers in the area.
“To meet the growing needs of designers, architects and other customers, we’re making our full range of product options more accessible in a space that inspires,” said Lori Kirk-Rolley, vice president, brand marketing, Dal-Tile.
The 4,000 square-foot, four-story design studio, located in the Philadelphia Design Building at 2300 Chestnut St., sits among other architectural and design firms, around the corner from the Marketplace Design Center.
The space looks and feels like a sophisticated design firm with communal worktables and easy access to product samples. A loose tile library provides customers with full-size samples to help them choose the best, and most stylish, tile for their projects.
Digital tools in the studio allow customers to bring their design ideas to life. An LCD touch screen lets customers virtually flip through the digital catalog, view inspiration gallery images and build out designs with the tile and stone visualizer tool.
Wall panels showcase products in-use to provide inspiration for applications and encourage incorporating various collections in each space for unique and multi-dimensional results.
The entry features a unique tile sculpture and mosaic mural that serve as a focal point, while a freestanding glass and metal lift leads the eye to the mezzanine area and above in the multi-level space.
“We kept the design elements in the space simple and sleek, as the historic loft-like atmosphere already provided a lot of natural character,” said Glenn Isenmann, associate for Gensler, the global architecture, design, planning and consulting firm that designed the studio for Daltile.
The studio is the first of two bi-coastal locations to open to the public in 2014. Daltile will celebrate the opening of a shared studio with Mohawk Flooring in San Francisco in the coming months.