Objects and prototypes in stone produced in research projects as part of design courses at Italian universities
As was the case last year, Marmomac 2018 again hosted the Young Stone Project in which Departments of Architecture and Design in Italian Universities in collaboration with companies and vocational and art schools put their heads together to design natural stone to use in new ways. Prototypes were shown at the entrance to Hall 1.
The Young Stone Project is not about classic product design or design of household objects. The focus is on an experimental approach to the material as such.
Some of the works were guided by the objective of producing with a minimum of waste.
Participants were: Bari Polytechnic University, Department of Architecture; University of Pescara, Department of Architecture; University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Civil Construction Engineering; University of Ferrara – Department of Architecture; Cignaroli Academy of Fine Arts in Verona; in collaboration with the San Zeno School in the Marble Sector in Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella and the Construction & Building School in Verona.
Curators, as was the case one year prior, were industrial designer Raffaello Galiotto and architect Vincenzo Pavan. In their press-release, they praised the enthusiasm of participants. „The link between universities and local areas functions very well in the stone industry thanks to the initiative by a group of architects and designers who are not only keen to include these materials in their courses, but above all expand the interest shown by many companies in relation to university research, to the extent of involving them enthusiastically in this exchange of knowledge.“
We had access to pictures and descriptions of some of the works which we present here.
Photos: Luca Morandini / Peter Becker
DORSALE is an urban furniture element designed to obtain volume from a reduced quantity of material, without waste. From a block of dimensions 80x50x150cm, thanks to a series of eccentric cuts, we have obtained a structure that develops in length up to a maximum of 3.83 linear meters. The components can be positioned according to different configurations, thus obtaining a dynamic and playful structure, which can be used by different types of users and can be interpreted as desired. Students: Valeria Biasin, Girotto Giacomo, Sofia Amoroso. Company: Vicentina Marmi. Material: Chiampo. Università di Ferrara, Dipartimento di Architettura – Corso di Laurea in Design del Prodotto Industriale, Laboratorio Di Product Design I.
ZIG: A modular seating system designed to minimize material waste. In order to optimize the material, four cuts will be made to obtain two seats and an element of conjunction in order of size, making the largest seat depend on the smaller one and vice versa. The cut at 5.7° is coincident and makes it easy to get up from the seat thanks to its concavity. The connection of these shapes allows infinite combinations to be created such as island compositions, with open or closed angles, wall or inline structures suitable for use in any context. The rack and the closings of the seat are made from scrap. Students: Helena Maretti, Nicolò Marangoni. Company: Vicentina Marmi. Material: Chiampo. Università di Ferrara, Dipartimento Di Architettura – Corso di Laurea in Design Del Prodotto Industriale, Laboratorio Di Product Design I.
SKIN: The project is a product innovation in stone for bathroom furniture, which goes beyond the concept of covering to integrate part of the services in the bathroom. The concept of uniformity is dictated both by the use of stone material and by the visual continuity that the system can define. At the base there is a concept of suspension, represented by the distancing from both the wall and the floor of the entire structure. In the interspaces created by these distances are obtained housing in which you can place a series of objects and accessories for the bathroom while the lower space is used to interpose the lighting that continues in a linear manner determining the layout of the whole system. Students: Francesco Berardi Stefano Marasco. Company: Antolini, Nuova Golden Marmi, Trackdesign. Material: Bianco Lasa Fantastico. Politecnico Di Bari, DICAR – Corso di Laurea in Disegno Industriale, Laboratorio di Sintesi Finale in Disegno Industriale.
FONTANELLE PER VERONA: The project is the result of previous experience in recovering the stone materials that were left in the exhibition centre by the companies participating at the last edition of Marmomac. Donated by the Scuola del Marmo (Marble School) di Sant’Ambrogio, the materials have been classified and used for educational purposes. This has led to the creation of fountains for the city of Verona. Professors: Dario Marconi, Alessandro Guardini, Alessandro Mefalopulos. Materials: Nembro Gialletto Perlato. Scuola del Marmo di Sant’ambrogio Salesiani San Zeno in collaboration with Marmomac.
LAPIS AQUA. The product design in the production stone: The prototypes on display represent some of the results of the design experiments on water and wellbeing through the innovation of the language of the stone product. The experiments aim to consider the aesthetic and technical characteristics of the materials used. All the prototypes were conceived and produced using CAD/CAM digital modelling and production techniques. Project Manager: Vincenzo Minenna. Professors: Annalisa Di Roma, Francesco Martellotta, Vincenzo Minenna, Giovanni Pappalettera, Alessandra Scarcelli. In collaboration with Antolini, Nuova Golden Marmi, Marmoplast, Pimar. Students: Berardi Francesco, Brudaglio Antonella, Loconte Scarcelli, Vincenzo Marasco, Stefano Scaringi, Giuseppe, Valente Francesca. Materials: Bianco Lasa Fantastico, Pietra Leccese. Politecnico di Bari, DICAR, Corso di Laurea in Disegno Industriale, Laboratorio di Sintesi Finale in Disegno Industriale.
FLUCTUS: The project involves the design of two types of seat made of natural stone, created with the diamond wire cutting technique. Both seats are called Fluctus; one has a tilted high back (Relax version) but the other (Temporary version) has no flat back. The seat comprises many tiny comfortable “waves”, which serve to drain off rainwater and provide perfect heat dispersion thanks to the least possible contact between the back and the stone. Students: Daniele Zago, Alessio Salvemini. Company: Margraf. Material: Fior Di Pesco Carnico. Università di Ferrara. Dipartimento di Architettura, Corso di Laurea in Design del Prodotto Industriale, Laboratorio di Product Design I.
FONT is a product designed for SPA, wellness areas, where the flow of water and the solidity of the stone meet. The principles on which the whole project is based are the sound and visual perceptions that only natural environments such as waterfalls or streams can arouse. The entire product is made of Lecce stone. It is made up of a vertical slab on which geometric elements are applied that generate visual sounds and configurations. Students: Loconte Scarcelli Vincenzo, Scaringi Giuseppe. Company: Pimar. Material: Pietra Leccese. Politecnico Di Bari, DICAR – Corso di laurea in Disegno Industriale, Laboratorio di Sintesi Finale in Disegno Industriale.
RANDOM. Randomize your wall design: The project was conceived as a wall cover made of regular hexagonal slabs. The material used is marble of Verona. The material is very easy to work with, allowing for a wide range of colors and finishing touches. The hexagonal plate is divided into two symmetrical parts, a part that retains the rough finish of the material, and the second part that has two very distinguishing finishing touches: glossy and satin. The unique concept of RANDOM slabs only gets value and appeal when, as a result of rolling differently each plate, an exclusive model is reached. It was made at the Scuola del Marmo of Sant’Ambrogio and the students of the Scuola Edile took care of the assembly. Programm Manager: Antonella Andriani, Katia Gasparini, Sotirios Papadopoulos. Supervisor, Coordinator: Sotirios Papadopoulos. Student: Alexandru Pacicovschi. Material: Marmo Rosso Verona. Accademia di Belle Arti di Verona, Corso di Laurea in Design Laboratorio di Design 2 n collaboration with Scuola del Marmo Di Sant’Ambrogio Salesiani San Zeno, Scuola Edile Di Verona ESEV-CPT.
LITICO/LUDICO is an experimentation on the processing of stone materials starting from the use of numerical control machines (with the 5-axis technologies of Helios Automazioni). The object is presented as an informal session but at the same time lends itself, for its forms, to a recreational use by users (children and adults) who can use it because of the sinuosity of the forms realized. The architect’s project Massimo Russo, with the coordination of the Department of Architecture of Pescara, tries to combine some main aspects in the production of lithic design objects with new digital technologies and in particular: parametric design with algorithms, optimization of the structural component and definition of machine language; the processing of materials with the technological interface of the new cutting machines; the possibility of composing/breaking down the individual pieces of the object’s production into the articulation of different possible solutions for use. Scientific Manager: Domenico Potenza. Overall Coordination: Mariangela Di Capua. Designer: Massimo Russo. Realizing Companies: Costas Michaelides Ltd, Aceto Marmi Di Aceto Sante & C.. Providing Companies: Costas Michaelides LTD, Felice Chirò Industria marmi. Materials: Limassol Stone, Serpeggiante, Pietra di Apricena. In collaboration with Tortuga and Helios Automazioni, Sezione Lapidei di Confindustria Foggia, Università degli Studi „G. D’annunzio” Chieti-Pescara, Dipartimento di Architettura di Pescara.
(24.12.2018, 12.24.2018)