Glass Drop Floor Tiles by Arnout Visser

Arnout Visser
Glass Drop Floor Tiles, 1997

Created in 1997, these floor tiles feature a specially developed glass formulated to share the same expansion coefficient as the ceramic base, allowing both materials to fuse seamlessly. Chunks of glass are placed onto each tile and heated until they melt into organic, drop-like shapes. As the glass cools, the natural cohesion of its molecules forms a raised, tactile relief that provides grip and gently massages the feet.

The resulting glass “water drops” both prevent slipping and evoke the uncanny sensation of walking across a rain-spattered surface that never becomes wet.

First shown at Droog, the Drop Tiles were subsequently produced by Royal Tichelaar Makkum, established in 1572 and among the oldest companies in the Netherlands.