Alicatado Tilework

thingiverse

I created this piece in SketchUp, inspired some "Alicatado" tile work I witnessed in the Alhambra palaces in Granada, Spain (España), where the walls, ceilings, and floors, are covered in such fascinating patterns. The back piece (which I printed black) has recessed spaces intended for the couple hundred plus tile pieces to fit in. It is kind of a time consuming printing and assembly process, so be warned if it looks easy. (Also, it is ridiculously easy to lose the tiles if they fall to the floor; I spent far too much time on my hands and knees looking for the tiniest of the pieces.) The tolerances are very close, so I needed to use a hobby knife, some sandpaper, and quite a bit of force to get the tiles all in their place, then some krazy glue style cyanoacrylate adhesive to affix the tiles in place. I will most likely use more forgiving tolerances if I try this technique again.