Thursday, 31 May 2018

gorgeous granite


Of the eye-catching granite cladding at Centennial Towers, 200 Kent St., Quentin Gall writes...
"Façade and flooring shows classic Rapakivi texture (large ovoid crystals
of alkali feldspar rimmed by plagioclase feldspar) granite. Some
crystals (phenocrysts) are up to 10 cm in diameter. The black matrix
is rich in the minerals amphibole and pyroxene. This unusual rock
contains rare black inclusions. Flame-treated blocks of the same
stone have been used in the walkways surrounding the building."
Gall doesn't specify where these particular slabs came from, but the name is Finnish — Finland and adjoining Russian Karelia are the traditional "type" source for this stone.

Rapaviki boulder, Karelia (source)