Wing Lung Bank Mural – 2007 Coverings Spectrum Award, 1st Prize Commercial

In 2007, Becoming Tile’s Wing Lung Bank Mural received the 1st Prize Commercial Spectrum Award from Coverings. The Spectrum Awards honor outstanding achievement in the use of ceramic tile. The award was presented at the Spectrum and Prism Awards ceremony that opened Coverings 2007, and recognized the project for its sense of design and innovative craftsmanship.

The project

Wing Lung Bank commissioned Becoming Tile to create a mosaic for the elliptical entry hall of its new branch building in Alhambra, California. After several prototypes were reviewed, the project team produced a 4,300-square-foot mural.

Artist Neil Seth Levine developed the design through many iterations. Two layers of color interlock beneath a filigree mask that alternates between the layers on every other tile, adding texture to a color-rich design based on nature themes. The mural was fabricated from 3/4-inch (20 mm) vitreous glass tile in 192 colors.

Fabrication

Keeping 192 colors consistent with the original design required careful inventory control, so that the correct quantity of every color reached each workstation. Becoming Tile fabricated more than 4,200 mosaic sheets in nine weeks, then labeled and sorted each sheet by installation order and shipped them to the construction site. Installation took a little over a year and was completed in time for the bank’s opening ceremony.

Project team

Mosaic fabrication: Becoming Tile, LLC (Keith DeWald)
Artist: Neil Seth Levine
Architect: Vivek Anand
Tile supplier: Mosaic Tile Supplies
Installer: Glenn Harris

From the judges

The judges called it a “difficult installation and a beautiful mix of colors,” and said the mural turns an ordinary bank into a work of art.

Award documentation

The award booklet page, the award letter from Coverings, and the TileLetter coverage are reproduced below.

Coverings 2007 Spectrum Awards booklet page: Wing Lung Bank Mural, First Prize Commercial, Becoming Tile — 2007 Spectrum Awards booklet, First Prize – Commercial.

Coverings letter notifying Keith DeWald of Becoming Tile of the 2007 1st Prize Commercial Spectrum Award — Award letter from Coverings show management, March 2007.

TileLetter cover featuring the Wing Lung Bank glass mosaic mural — TileLetter coverage of the project.

Planning an architectural mosaic?

Becoming Tile fabricates custom mosaics from single feature panels to building-scale murals, delivered as numbered sheets in installation order. See commercial projects or contact us about your project.