In the heart of Ohio City, a trendy area of Cleveland, OH, sits the INTRO, a 9 story building that houses 40,000 square feet of retail on the street level, 300 apartments, a rooftop pool and deck, as well as underground parking.
The INTRO sits directly across the street from one of Cleveland's most historic buildings, West Side Market. The Market District is one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in Cleveland and is considered the dining and entertainment hub of the area.
The INTRO is Cleveland's first and the U.S.'s largest mass timber building project to date.
The beauty of mass timber building is the exposed wood. In the INTRO the wood replaces the typical steel beams and concrete, making the public and private areas cozier and inviting.
Mass Timber Building
Since the 1990's mass timber building has been gaining popularity throughout Europe and has spread to Canada and the more recently to the U.S.
The most common form of mass timber, the one that has opened up the most architectural possibilities, is cross-laminated timber (CLT). Since timber is a renewable source the expenditure for using it in large building projects is reduced. Greenhouse gases and pollution are reduced notably when using timber.
CLT is not flammable, reduces carbon emissions, in building it has lower labor costs and less waste, performs well in earthquakes, and is aesthetically appealing.
Marion Ceramics Tumbled BrickTile
Dan Cabeza of Marion Ceramics, Inc. said: "Marion Ceramics is proud to be a part of this historic building. Our Tumbled BrickTile, in our custom blend named Market Square, is used throughout the entrance and lobby of INTRO. Since our Tumbled BrickTile can be used exterior or interior we were able to accommodate the builder with one product that does both jobs."
When you first walk up to the entrance of INTRO you are greeted by five steps and a patio that are covered with our custom blended Tumbled BrickTile.
Then you walk through the doors you will see multiple levels all covered with our BrickTile
Our BrickTile is also on the floor of the 2nd floor Garden Terrace, an outdoor lounge area with a firepit
In our own small way we feel that we helped bring this remarkable building in Cleveland to fruition and we were a part of history.