Presented are the marbles from the parent company and the many product ideas by the subsidiaries and brands Marsotto Edizioni, Marsotto Lab und Marsotto Art
Italian Marsotto company and its design brand Marsotto Edizioni have opened a permanent showroom with the address Largo Treves 2 in Milan, in the heart of the Brera Design District. Presented are Marsotto’s stones and also the many marble furniture ideas from the famous door stopper in form of a shark fin by designer James Irvine to the new design objects coming from collaborations with several internationally known designers. Also, the experimental items of Marsotto Lab resulting from a university cooperation and the artworks of Marsotto Art are exhibited.
Oki Sato from studio Nendo, responsible for many of the company’s marble furniture ideas, was the designer of the new showroom.
The entry to the showroom pays homage to the ancient tradition of Milan’s architecture (see photo on top). “The aim was to retain the building’s aesthetic memory, both as an act of respect and as a form of contact ”, says Costanza Olfi, CEO of Marsotto Edizioni.
Because the roundabout in front of the showroom will soon be greened and turned into a small park, one side of the entry was designed as an “impromptu street furniture with a soft recess on it, in the hope that neighbors may come and sit there pleasantly for a while,“ Oki Sato adds.
In the entrance space inside the showroom, a mesh-like marble partition hides the staircase to the basement. It consists of two layers of marble (8 mm thick with a 65 mm wide dots perforation) glued on a glass sheet. “With only 8 mm of width remaining, the partition’s tempered transparency and lightness reduce oppressiveness of the marble constitution, softly drawing visitors to the basement exhibition space,“ as said in a press release.
While the ground level allows the physical experience of superior marble processing techniques, the basement is spatially structured for visitors to enjoy the allure of marble itself.
The basement space is divided into 5 rooms, provided with 5 stages of varying size. “Here, the visitor is led through a medley of unexpected perceptions and perspectives focusing,on technical and stylistic details,“ the company informs.
In the smallest room of the basement, a circular stage was installed and stone samples inserted into the wall, free to be taken in hand. Below the samples, stools with different finishes are lined up for display, in a unified form to enable the viewer to focus on the varying finishes.
“This permanent location is conceived as a place where architects and designers , art and design implementers can meet and exchange ideas. Here they will find a rich selection of samples, materials, profiles and inlays for customized projects focused on contract, hospitality, cruise, airport, residential and retail, urbanistic and artistic settings“, as said in a press release. The basement facilities are not only suitable for exhibitions but also for lunch meetings, as a catering space during events, and many more.
Marsotto Showroom in Milan, Largo Treves 2, Brera District
Opening hours: Monday-Friday 10am-8pm, Saturday 10am-6pm
Photos: Hiroki Tagma
(08.10.2020, USA: 10.08.2020)
