Lime seamless floor at the Royal Hospital Chelsea: an experimental approach

Following on from our Conference theme of ‘New Ideas for Old Buildings’ this series is hosted by SPAB and the first of four lunchtime online CPD lectures.

During this talk, Laura Morgante will discuss how an experimental approach was taken at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, supported by the NLHF, to create a lime seamless floor in the Stable Block. Drawing on an 18th-century Venetian tradition, itself first practiced in Ancient Rome, this beaten lime technique is known as ‘cocciopesto’.  It is made with crushed bricks, lime, sand and other stone aggregates to produce a floor that is beautiful, breathable and manages water effectively. This flooring is still produced in Venice today but is a relatively novel approach here in the UK and Laura’s lecture will explore how this could be a starting point for future developments in the field of sustainable seamless flooring.