When you want creativity and ecological sensitivity, try the Rubble floor! Usually when a building is being demolished, a completely new one takes its place. Netherlands based designer Dave Haakens was interested in using the materials from old buildings in the creation of the new one. Looking like Italian terrazzo floors - made up of marble, quartz, granite and glass by tradition - his Rubble Floor is made up of the waste from people’s homes.
“I did several tests with different materials and made a selection of which materials are possible,” says Hakkens, discussing the pigments and functional aspects of various materials.”I used crushed bricks and roof tiles as a pigment. Between 20-30% of new cement is added to bind everything to one solid floor which can last 100's of years.” Hakkens discovered with time that by crushing some of the materials into a powder and sieving some of them, he could create a pigment to make multicolored bricks with unlimited building possibilities. The result is clearly a unique and earth friendly alternative to flooring.
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