In the coastal metropolis of Xiamen, the subway is more than a transit system; it is a reflection of the city’s relationship with the sea. For this specific station hall, the design concept called for a floor that mimicked the fluid, rhythmic currents of the ocean. To execute this vision, we turned to one of nature’s most dramatic materials: Verde Alpi Serpentinite.

The choice of Verde Alpi was bold. Known for its deep, abyssal green background and chaotic, brecciated quartz veining, it is a stone of immense character but significant fabrication challenges. It varies wildly in tone and pattern. To tame this wild material, we employed a rigorous factory dry-lay process (Images 4, 5, 6).

In our facility, thousands of square meters of flooring were pre-assembled. This allowed our technicians to treat the floor as a massive canvas, manually arranging individual tiles to ensure a harmonious transition of veins and color gradients. This prevents the "checkerboard" effect that often plagues lesser installations of variegated stone.

The defining feature of the floor, however, is the complex network of intersecting white curves—a technique known as large-scale intarsia.

Using high-pressure 5-axis waterjet cutting technology, we sliced through the dense green stone to create channels for the Crystal White Marble inlays. The tolerance for these cuts was less than 0.5mm. As seen in the on-site photos (Images 1, 2, 3), the white lines function as wayfinding ribbons, guiding commuters through the space.

The installation required surgical precision. The white curves had to remain continuous across hundreds of separate tiles. A misalignment of even a millimeter would break the visual illusion of a flowing current. The result is a mirror-polished surface that feels liquid, a permanent emerald sea beneath the feet of Xiamen’s travelers.

This project demonstrates that with the right combination of digital fabrication and traditional dry-lay verification, even the most complex organic patterns can be rendered in stone with absolute fluidity.