STORIES | doral stones

doral stones
- Mar 22, 2020
- 3 min read

What steps is doral stones taking during the pandemic?

Updated: Mar 22, 2020

We know by now you have probably seen and heard this too many times, but just to be safe, here is doral stones can tell you about the Corona Virus Pandemic and what we are doing :

What is COVID-19?

The newly identified coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by a virus called SARS-CoV 2. First identified in China in December 2019, COVID-19 has infected thousands of people around the world. While this coronavirus is new, it is not the only coronavirus. Coronaviruses were first identified in the 1960s, commonly infect people and are associated with the common cold.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

The symptoms of COVID-19 are difficult to distinguish, as they present symptoms like other coronaviruses that are similar to those of the common cold. People with confirmed cases have reportedly had mild-to-severe respiratory illness with the following symptoms:

IMPORTANT: Symptoms may occur up to two weeks after exposure.

How do I prevent infection?

As there is no vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 at this time, preventing exposure to COVID-19 is your best defense. Everyday practices to help protect you and prevent the spread of viruses include:

Wash your hands often.

Wash your hands well, especially after coughing, sneezing or having any contact with someone who's coughing or sneezing. Use soap and running water, scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds and then rinse and dry your hands thoroughly. When soap and water aren't available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.

Keep your hands away from your face

Avoid rubbing your eyes or putting your hands to your mouth until you've washed your hands.

Observe respiratory etiquette

Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, throw away used tissues immediately and wash your hands afterwards.

Clean high-touch surfaces

Frequently disinfect surfaces like door handles, light switches and countertops.

What do I do if I feel sick?

If you begin to feel ill, even with mild symptoms, manage them as you would if you had the flu. Stay at home, in a separate room from your family if possible, and avoid public places until you recover. Rest, use fever reducers (if needed) and keep at least six feet away from other people when possible. If you develop a cough and/or have difficulty breathing, call your healthcare provider to discuss your symptoms and travel history, and you'll be advised how to best proceed.

What is social distancing?

Social distancing is intentionally increasing the physical space between people (at least six feet), as well as minimizing social contact, to avoid spreading illness. Examples include avoiding crowds, working from home instead of going into the office and visiting with loved ones via electronic device instead of in person.

Why is social distancing recommended?

In general, the larger the gathering, the more opportunities there are for person-to-person contact and therefore greater risk of spreading COVID-19 virus. A COVID-19 outbreak could last a long time in your community. Depending on the severity of the outbreak, public health officials may recommend specific actions, such as closing schools and public locations, in order to help keep people healthy, reduce exposures to COVID-19 and slow the spread of the disease. These mitigation strategies are particularly important in order to slow the transmission of disease in order to protect:

- Individuals at increased risk of severe illness, including older adults and persons of any age with underlying health conditions

- Healthcare and critical infrastructure workforces

What steps is doral stones taking during the pandemic?

In the name of social distancing, doral stones is recommending all customers to check our online inventory and postponing any store visit. We understand that you can’t buy a slab without proper inspection, but our entire stone inventory is registered on our website with high definition pictures and slab sizes. After selecting your stone, we are offering an extra 30 Day Period for all slabs placed on hold. We believe this can help you find the best stone for your project during this challenging time.

Are store hours changing?

Yes. As the situation evolves quickly, we are updating our store hours and taking extra measures to help provide a clean and safe environment for our customers and team members.

Keep Informed

Get the latest information on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), learn how to protect yourself and take advantage of our convenient services:

Visit CDC.gov for updates on this rapidly evolving situation

Get the latest from Miami-Dade County

Get the latest from Florida Health

Get the latest from White House

Source: We're in this together: Helping you and your family through COVID-19 by Walgreens

4 Tips for Winning a Design Competition

Updated: Mar 15, 2021

Every year the attendees of CASACOR Miami - an architecture, interior and landscaping design exhibition that takes place during Art Basel at Miami’s Brickell City Centre - choose the best room of the show to be awarded. For the second year in a row, Mr. Allan Malouf's room was selected amongst many incredible projects. This time, doral stones helped by providing the Natural Stones for the two feature walls. One wall showcased the All Saints, an elegant marble, deep and luminous at the same time with a complex personality because, despite emerging from a dark background, it transmits great light and vitality. On the other wall Mr. Malouf chose the Matarazzo, a refined Dolomite that features grey hints over a white backdrop to combine a solid appearance with a minimal accent. This amazing balance was probably one of the many reasons his Family Room was chosen as the best room but if you want to increase your odds of winning a Design Competition, here are 4 tips from the NKBA panel “How to Win a Design Competition,” featured speakers Bob Borson, FAIA, associate principal for BOKA Powell and a former NKBA Insider; DJ Carey, editorial director for CT Cottages & Gardens, who has served as an NKBA competition judge;Kendall Ansel, principal for Kendall Ansell Interiors and a winner of an NKBA 2020 Design Award for Living in Place design, and Peter Salerno, CMKBD, owner and lead designer for Peter Salerno Inc., who also has served as an NKBA competition judge. They shared personal experiences as entrants and judges. Here are their key tips: 1. High-Quality Photography

Although it seems like a no-brainer, it’s one of the most important factors when submitting a competition

entry package. In order for a judge to consider someone’s work, the judge needs to see a great portfolio of images featuring the design.“If the images aren’t great, you’ve already lost the judge,” Carey said. Lighting and composition are notable in photograph selection. Everything should be appropriately lit to accentuate the space, and nothing should seem unnatural.“It’s important that it doesn’t look like a showroom photo,” Borson said. He added that it should appear how it would while enjoying morning coffee.The first photo in a series should pull all of the information together and orient the judge to the space. Any photos used for design competitions are also portfolio-building content, so paying extra for a good photographer’s service is worth the effort.“You’re going to use this image to build your portfolio,” Salerno said. “That $2,000 can help you get more than you put in, and it’s not wasted money.”

Photograph: Kris Tamburello

2. Tell a Story

The narrative piece in a submission is where the designer can explain layout choices, overarching themes and anything that’s not easily expressed in a photograph. Use writing as an opportunity to pique the judge’s interest in the space beyond visual appeal.“Please don’t use clichés,” Carey said. “Tell me about the project, tell me about the problem, tell me about the solution.”Writing processes depend on personal preferences, and some of the panelists shared their perspective. “I write the bullet points first, and then the next day I work on the ‘fluffy’ parts,” Ansell said. Floorplans are also part of the storytelling aspect beyond the written statement. These detailed documents show a designer’s skillset and ability to adhere to guidelines. “When the documentation doesn’t match the product, that’s a big red flag,” Borson said. Make sure the written portion matches what is being represented in the plans and the visuals. Judges look closely at plans to confirm that a designer is carefully considering both aesthetic and technical components in a space.“As designers, we need to be able to provide the proper floorplan and elevation,” Salerno stressed.

Photograph: Kris Tamburello

3. It’s All in the Details

What brings charm and sophistication to a design is carefully thought-out detail. From a purposeful color choice to patterned tile, choosing thoughtful and subtle elements brings a design together. Panelists mentioned elements like greenery, thoughtful ceiling choices and carefully chosen accents as factors that enhance designs.“You need something green, something that has life,” Carey said. “Otherwise, the space will feel dead.”With increasing technology in the kitchen and bath spaces, clever solutions for hiding it are appreciated. Ansell mentioned that sometimes “wall acne” accumulates from the multitude of wires, switches, ports and smart devices. Designing with this in mind helps determine functional accessories that add to the details as opposed to detracting from the aesthetics of a space. Homeowners need the devices and the ways to charge them — but they don’t need to see them.

Photograph: Kris Tamburello

4. Don’t Give Up

Receiving a letter that states, “We regret to inform you…” is disheartening. The panelists collectively agreed, however, that this is the most important piece of advice — never stop entering competitions. It takes a lot of work to construct a winning package, but a loss leaves room for growth and improvement. The best way to get better and improve the odds is to send in submissions and learn from those that were not chosen.“If you submit for a design award and don’t win,” Borson said, “keep trying.”

Source:https://nkba.org/info/2020/03/the-nkba-list-4-tips-for-winning-a-design-competition

Miami-Dade brings home a Pinnacle Awards of Excellence for Natural Stone use!

"Genius in urban streetscape transformation; a true inspiration. Concentric circles of stone paving with seating bollards and art, playfully layered together, create a delicate beauty, rich in texture, unexpected color, and irregularity. A ripple effect of success – just loved it.The City of Coral Gables and the local business improvement district commissioned a streetscape design project and asked the design team to 'create a pair of streets like no other in the world'.” These were the comments from one of the Judges of the Natural Stone Institute Pinnacle Award of Excellence about the Miracle Mile and Giralda Avenue Streetscape Coral Gables renovation.

Photograph: City of Coral Gables

The concept for Miracle Mile was inspired by the poetry of George Merrick and the desire to create the effect of a walk in the clouds. The paving pattern is a reflection of the sky above, as seen in the gap between the edge of the Live Oak tree canopy and storefront cornices along the sidewalk. It is a coordinated palette of five quartzite types that were anchored by Azul Macaubas. The size of stones and module of the pattern were critical to the ability to realize the vision of the project.

Giralda Plaza complements Miracle Mile and celebrates regional climatic conditions. Its stone pattern is composed of six colors of granite, creating massive raindrops that reflect the diurnal changing colors of the sky. Paving on both streets was installed in its natural state so that when dry, stones appear soft and muted but when it rains, the streetscapes explode in color to defy the blanket of gray skies above. Shell Reef stone furniture was designed to double as bollards that keep cars in their place. The sides of every piece were blasted to bring out the texture and fossils in the stone, and to remind us of the age of the pieces in honor of the timeless qualities of Coral Gables. The tops were filled and honed so that residents and visitors are invited to touch and sit on them without worry of damaging refined clothing. The heights of all seating tops vary throughout the project to accommodate people of all ages.