Interiors Architecture – Archipanic’s Editor in Chief Enrico Zilli explored CERSAIE 2021, the most important fair for surface and bathroom design, which usually goes on show in Bologna every September. “In the wake of the pandemic, some of the most interesting novelties highlight a new intimacy rekindling with Nature and with our cultural heritage. We selected six ceramic tile collections tuning with the ‘slow’ ceramic emerging trend.”
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Raw earth and Italian craftsmanship in a tile
Atlas Concorde teamed up with Matteo Brioni, an Italian architect who made raw earth the protagonist of contemporary interior design, with prestigious projects worldwide, to create Boost Natural. The collection reproduces the irregularities, earthy colors, nuances of natural clay, and Italian craftsmanship. Opaque to the light and crisscrossed by slight color variations, up close, they reveal a pattern of visual and tactile details that reproduce the marks left by manual workmanship and the granularity of the raw earth.
The beauty of imperfection
Wabi-Sabi is the acceptance of beauty residing in small imperfections, according to Japanese aesthetics. Wabi-Sabi is also the name of Federica Biasi’s ceramic collection for Decoratori Bassanesi. The Wabi series features a dense weave, a texture to be observed from close up and, thereafter, gently skimmed, touched and explored with multiple senses. Despite its simpler, more rigorous and broader essence, the Sabi range boasts a more decisive and tangible surface.
Ceramic frescos
Ceramiche Refin presents Affrescati, a materic collection reinterpreting the eclectic history of Italian frescos. Affrescati features subtle ripples and spatulations recalling the exquisite craftsmanship Italy is renown for. The collection comes in sophisticated nuances ranging from ochre to white lime, from earth to lapis lazuli blue, projecting traditional surfaces into contemporary design.
Friendship, dots and childhood memories
Ensemble – Together in French – is the name of the collection by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Mutina that celebrates ten years of collaboration and friendship between the French design duo and the Modena-based ceramic brand. The collection encompasses new works and tweaked classics. The Bloc series consists of terracotta bricks with holes. Available in either matt or glossy versions, the holes can be left empty, creating vibrant plays of light, or filled with coloured wooden tubes. Inspired by the designers’ childhood memories in Brittany the new Pico Bois is Mutina’s first wooden flooring range.
Mixing terrazzo with concrete, playing with colours
Lea Ceramiche presents the Masterpieces by Ferruccio Laviani. The collection combines and breaks apart two different and unexpectedly complementary surfaces: Master, inspired by grainy cement, and Piece, inspired by terrazzo-like seminato flooring. “Colour and material are the foundation of my work.” Explains Ferruccio Laviani. “The chromatic range draws from the tradition of Italian interior design such as the Verde Alpi marble, the ochre of the Land of Siena, the rust of the Cotto Lombardo.”
Bauhaus-inspired ceramics
Turkish tile manufacturer Vitra presents Atelier 01, a collection inspired by the geometric forms of the Bauhaus movement. Developed with four colours and two main patterns, the collection consists of glazed porcelain tiles with matt surfaces, 11 different design selections, nine decors and two base colours. “Atelier 01 offers a new base to create unique designs with each piece that looks like coming out of a modern art gallery.” Explain at Vitra.
All photos by the companies and designers.
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