Sir Walter Raleigh Award for
Community Appearance
Presented by the City of Raleigh to
David Allen Company
for Outstanding Contribution toward Enhancing the Beauty of the City of Raleigh

The first two sections of this pinwheel design were copied from a floor in the Galerie Dell’Accademia in Venice that was constructed in the mid-18th century during an extensive restructuring of the original 1755-66 building.
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The starburst is copied from a floor in the Palazzo Pisani Morretta on the Grand Canal in Venice.

This portion of the lobby shows the rotunda outer mosaic with the Alexander the Great centerpiece. The 8 inch X 3 centimeter profiled marble base, including the radiused base of Rainforest Green from India, is used extensively through the building and was fabricated by David Allen Company.

All restrooms have marble or granite lavatory tops and toilet partitions The floors are a combination of marble and porcelain tile.

This floor occurs at the Venetian conference room entrance. The granite border and lion were designed by Vickie Wilson, David Allen Company artist.

These two photos of The Creation are a granite panel that has been laser etched. The artist then painted the creation scene into the etching.

The close up of Alexander the Great shows the intricate details of the marble mosaic that is the centerpiece of the rotunda. It was produced by the renowned mosaic artist, Fabio Fabiano Favret of Pietrasanta, Italy from an oil painting by Vickie Wilson.

These looped marble pieces are part of the lobby entrance and are copied from a nineteenth century floor in the Library of the Accademia, originally The Tablino in Venice.

Conference Room Table
The peacock and floral vine motif is inspired from a mosaic pavement design in the Basilica of San Marco in Venice. This intricate waterjet design utilizes eleven colors of natural stone and seven colors of stained glass. The 14’ x 4’ is composed of over 1500 individual pieces, the smallest of which is approximately the diameter and thickness of a drinking straw. It is mounted on aluminum sheathed honeycomb panels and the joints filled with epoxy, then polished and installed as one unit.

Elevator Floor
In keeping with the decor and art of the building, the mythological Chariot of the Sun was the inspiration for the waterjet design on the elevator floor. A slab of Damascus Red marble was planed to 1 cm, polished and then the field pieces were cut to allow continuous veining in the fiery sky. Helios, with his chariot and horses, is cut from 12” x 12” tiles of polished marble. The scene is framed by a Greek Key pattern, overall dimensions are 63"x 46". Designed by Vickie Wilson, Staff Artist, and fabricated and installed by David Allen Company craftsmen.

Terrazzo installations in the executive offices of the Terrazzo Division of the David Allen Company Headquarters

Terrazzo installations in the executive offices of the Terrazzo Division of the David Allen Company Headquarters

Entrance Lobby
The entrance lobby features a framed granite tile panel of the “Creation.”

This granite panel of Michelangelo’s “Creation” combines modern technology with artistic skill. The design was laser etched into the surface of the granite tiles and the color was hand painted into the etching

The rear entrance wall features “The Cycle of Chivalry,” a tile mural produced by William Tode, from 16th century frescos in Mantua, Italy, painted by Pisanelli.

The double horse head design, by Vickie Wilson, at the rear entrance is taken from one of the horse’s heads in the mural, “The Cycle of Chivalry.” The design is cut from polished and unpolished porcelain tile.