Falwa: from bare blockwork to polished marble

This is the largest documented set in our archive: a multi-level interior fit-out photographed from the first day to handover. The early frames show bare blockwork, open service soffits and conduit chased into the floor slab. The last ones show polished marble floors and an arched double-leaf entrance.

Most of the work on show is EPS decorative element: curved cornices, arched niches, column casings and circular ceiling bulkheads. Every piece is cut, shaped and dry-fitted before it is glued. That is why so many frames show two people carrying a single element — a curved piece cannot be set any other way.

Setting out is done with a laser level. In a building where no wall is truly straight, the laser line is the only reference that holds the same height from one room to the next, and the red mark on the blockwork is the datum the whole floor follows.

The crew works in our own hi-vis, and the site engineers walk the drawings on site before each stage. When someone asks what the work actually looks like from the inside, this is the project we show them.