Stone-Ideas.com 
Primeval crystals are integrated into everyday objects made of geometric onyx or travertine
Never before has geology been such a theme in the collections that the Budri company and the designer Patricia Urquiola have brought to market. ”Geodies” is the current title, and the wide range of raw pieces and special crystals is used for this, each in the most unusual colors that nature has to offer. We suspect that the company and designer are once again picking up on a current mood in society, this time the primal power of nature, which is currently evident all over the world in extreme weather, and which is artistically represented in the collection.
Budri is a traditional company based in Mirondola in Emilia Romagna, Italy. It is one of the top makers when it comes to designing with natural stone. Patricia Urquila was born in Spain and lives in Milan. In her collaboration with Budri, she has repeatedly developed ideas for the use of stone that go beyond the mainstream. For example, in her installations she gave the leftover pieces from processing a second life early on; Budri promoted the ideas and implemented them in a handicraft manner.
Now the forces of nature, maybe. There are two ways to represent them: you can make a big noise, or you can work on them sensitively. The company and the designer take the second path, of course. Because their objects are intended for sale and in some cases even for use as everyday objects.
For example, the large ”Mass Quartz” dining table. Its base is modeled on rock crystal – here it is hugely enlarged, so that you are almost shocked by its oversized beauty. Of course, the base, created by human hands from individual pieces, has a framework inside that supports the construction.
The tabletop, on the other hand, is almost minimalistic, and appears even thinner than it already is due to the bevelled corners.
The arrangement is varied for the ”Corteza” dining table: the top is made of white onyx, which has been rounded with resin. The edges are not perfectly round. The base is made of waste pieces, also rounded with resin.
Compared to these massive pieces of furniture, the six table mirrors are highly detailed. A crystal is attached to a geometric block. The materials used are the unbridled crystals, which contrast with the monochrome onyx in pink, white, and green and the cream-colored travertine. A special feature of the arrangement is that the users of the mirror see themselves from the front and the crystal from behind.
This contrast between the raw stone and the worked piece is taken to the extreme in the eight coffee and order tables. Here, the artistic design is pushed to the forefront – these objects are more ”functional sculptures” than product design.
Finally, the ”Geodie Artwork.” It is a wall installation in which various types of marble emerge from sand-colored limestone bands. They reflect erosion as another force of nature that is barely noticeable because it works over a long period. This completes the cycle of nature: while growth was one of the themes in the objects, here it is dissolution.
In a conversation at the presentation as part of Milan Design Week, Alessandra Malagoli Budri, Art Director at Budri, told us that as a child she always bought stones and enthusiastically made necklaces and other things out of them. She was particularly fascinated by the crystal shapes.
Patricia Urquiola was enthusiastic about the idea.
Photos/Renderings: Budri
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(12.07.2024, USA: 07.12.2024)