Solidnature debuts at milan design week with pieces by sabine marcelis and oma

OMA AND ABINE MARCELIS DESIGN WITH SOLIDNATURE STONE Natural stone brand SolidNature partners with Rem Koolhaas-founded architecture firm OMA for its debut at Milan Design Week. The

immersive show ‘Monumental Wonders,’ presented at Alcova, features pieces by the Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis and the international architecture firm which had been newly commissioned by

SolidNature for the occasion.  The exhibition spans five rooms at Alcova’s Lavanderia building and demonstrates a range of innovative strategies for the manipulation of natural and

semi-precious stones. entrance threshold by OMA | image courtesy SolidNature A VIBRANT THRESHOLD AND SCULPTURAL BATHROOM SolidNature (see here) showcases the beauty of its natural stone from

the start with its luminous portal comprising nine different types of onyx, assembled in sequence by OMA (see here) to form a vibrant threshold. Through this entranceway, the inspiring work

of Sabine Marcelis (see here) takes center stage. At once, visitors to Alcova (see here) are greeted by a monolithic, state of the art bathroom of Pink Pale Hue Onyx which is meant to be

viewed from every angle as a free-standing sculpture. Seeming to glow from within, each element of the playful installation has been meticulously taken into account by the designer, who has

created a piece where form and function coexists organically. the threshold comprised nine types of onyx | image by designboom Sabine Marcelis notes: ‘_There is, for sure, a clear intent in

everything I design. It’s very much about getting to the core of something and stripping back any decorative elements. I always design things with function in mind, but maybe when you see

the installation in person for the first time, it doesn’t look like the most functional thing. It’s a delicate balance of aesthetics, materiality, form language, and function_.’ OMA Partner

Ellen van Loon continues: ‘_The design explores the possibilities of natural stone, from the unfettered expressivity of a raw block of marble to the creative reuse of leftover off-cuts and

stone dust_.’ bathroom by SolidNature, designed by Sabine Marcelis | image by Marco Cappelletti HEAVINESS TO LIGHTNESS: CHALLEGING PERCEPTION OMA populates the main room of SolidNature’s

‘Monumental Wonders’ presenting _Balance,_ a multi-functional cabinet made out of Satin Verde Marble with shelves in Fresh Flow Onyx. The cabinet can be used as an open shelf from one side

while the other side can be used as a closed cabinet system. Balance visually challenges the perception of gravity as it stands on a single support that can be easily rotated. ​

_Inhabitable_ is a bed intended as a block that reveals hidden functions within a very clean design. The bed is made out of two main elements, a fixed slab of Satin Verde Marble and a block

of Dark Emerald Onyx which rotates revealing its multiple functions and storage facilities for various items such as plugs, books or laptops. In addition to _Balance_ and _Inhabitable_, OMA

uses SolidNature’s innovative and cutting-edge manufacturing techniques to create _The Technological Stone_, a block of natural stone with rough finishing, transformed into a power plug

creating a bridge between nature and technology. The collection of Technological Stones is the main source of power within Monumental Wonders and visitors can see these connected to screens

showing videos of the manufacturing process. Inhabitable by SolidNature, designed by OMA SHOWCASING EXPERIMENTATION IN THE _LAB ROOM_ The visit of SolidNature’s Monumental Wonders culminates

with the _Lab Room_. Here, the expert natural stone manufacturer demonstrates the possibilities of the materials throughout a colorful display of marble samples, arranged by gradient. Most

spectacularly, SolidNature shows the experimentation of the material, especially by using marble dust which is still in an early stage of development. Visitors are invited to learn two

techniques of working with dust: the first consists of casting the dust together with resin to create new textures, while the second process generates new colorways of stones by blowing air

inside a case containing different stone dusts. This method has been largely used by SolidNature and the most well-known example of this can be seen in the bright pink stone used for the

elevator of Fondazione Prada’s Torre. view of the Lab Room | image by designboom David Mahyari, CEO of SolidNature comments: ‘_Monumental Wonders is the result of SolidNature’s constant

pursuit of beauty and craftsmanship. Our constant research to develop cutting-edge solutions that highlight the versatility and uniqueness of natural stone informs our exhibition at Alcova

where we aim to show that the impossible can be made possible through experience, creativity and ingenuity._ ‘_For Monumental Wonders we have been privileged to collaborate with a formidable

team of creatives who translated SolidNature’s desire to push boundaries and reinvent the limitless ways in which natural stone can be utilized_.’