Jugendstil tiles restoration project
In Hemiksem (just below Antwerp) on the site of the famous Jugendstil tile factory Ceramiques dÕHemixem Gilliot et Cie, the factory buildings have recently been replaced by apartment complexes. A building with a beautiful tile panel and tile decoration has been preserved. With the exception of the edge above the original tile panel, the Jugendstil tile decoration edge has been replaced by a hundred (10 m2) frost-resistant 30 x 30 cm tiles with the baked-in scan of the 4 original relief tiles. A look-a-like joint has been applied over these tiles.
Due to the possibilities of Tile Bakery’s digital ceramic printing technique, ceramic cultural heritage can be affordably preserved.
Salamander tile
In mid-October, the last jetty was removed from scaffolding 8 and 16 in Antwerp and two beautifully restored Art Nouveau facades appeared. The relief tiles with the image of a brown-tinged salamander stand out most. These replace the porous tiles from 1890, with the consent of Monumentenzorg (conservation institute). Tile Bakery has baked more than 750 relief tiles and 750 flat tiles for this special facade restoration. With decades of ceramic experience, it was a tough and labor-intensive challenge to get close to the original colors and reproduce all frost-resistant tiles manually, glaze and bake at 1,200 degrees.