Journal / Process / 05

A Note on Finishes

Polished, honed, brushed: how surface changes the same block of stone.

Natural stone asks for a different kind of attention than a manufactured surface. The variation is not a defect to be managed; it is the reason the material was chosen.

In practice this changes the order of work. The slab is looked at first, in full, under even light. Only then does the drawing come into the room. A dry-lay settles questions that no sample can answer: where the vein runs, which edge takes the movement, and how two neighbouring pieces will read once they are fixed.

Sequence is a design decision. It is made once, and it stays in the building.

Before specification

Finish, thickness, format and edge detail follow from the application. A honed surface reads differently from a polished one under raking light; a brushed finish changes how a vein holds shadow. These are small decisions, but they are visible every day for as long as the building is used.

We record each slab individually so that the conversation stays concrete: this piece, this sequence, this project. Nothing needs to be imagined.