Jessie French’s MarbleWood R&D project will utilise the $5,000 grant to help fund accredited testing of MarbleWood, including surface hardness, abrasion resistance, moisture stability and UV stability. This testing will give architects and designers the performance data needed to specify MarbleWood in commercial interiors.
The jury assessed each entry on the strength of the idea, sustainable thinking, originality, feasibility and the applicant’s capacity to deliver. MarbleWood was the unanimous choice.
“With engineered stone now banned in Australia, designers are looking for surfaces that offer the presence of stone with a responsible material story,” says Katherine Featherstone of the Green Building Council of Australia. “MarbleWood speaks directly to that need, and independent testing is the step that allows it to be specified with confidence.”
For Karen Elton, of Elton Group: “Jessie was clear about exactly what the grant would achieve. MarbleWood has a genuine path to scale, and this testing gives architects the evidence they need to bring it into their projects.”
Thank you to our jury, Karen, Katherine and Eva-Marie, and to everyone who shared their ideas with us this year. We look forward to following MarbleWood through testing and into the built environment.
As Eva-Marie notes, “An initiative like the Think Good Micro Grant gives makers and researchers the support to move a material from the studio into the built environment, and it is exciting to see Elton Group backing that work.”