Beyond the Surface
Ellen van Loon and Giulio Margheri
with Alex Tintea, Assem El-Cheikh, Federico Taiariol and Ron Zaum
For its second participation at the Milan Design Week, SolidNature commissioned OMA to design an
installation that explores the journey of natural stone from its geological formation to the finished
product.
Located in the 19th
-century Casa Maveri in the Brera District, the exhibition is divided in two sections:
an underground sequence of rooms showcasing the processes through which stone is formed,
extracted and processed; and an open-air collection of stone furniture in the palazzo’s garden,
designed by invited artists. In the basement, stone is present as large, rough slabs that clad the
rooms completely, as if in a journey underneath the Earth’s crust. In the garden, meanwhile, stone
becomes a backdrop for the different activities hosted during the week. The two spaces are
connected via a sky-blue onyx volume that contains a staircase made of multicoloured marble.
Milan, 18 April 2023 – For this year’s edition of Milan Design Week, Ellen van Loon and Giulio Margheri have
designed an installation commissioned by SolidNature taking place in the basement and garden of the neo-
Romanesque Casa Maveri in the Brera District.
The basement features a sequence of rooms which illustrates the process of formation and processing of natural
stone. In collaboration with different invited designers, the garden showcases their individual take on processing
natural stone into objects.
Ellen van Loon, Partner, OMA: “This year’s exhibition is about nature’s power; it gives an impression of the
processes of compression and solidification that led to the formation of natural stone as we know it today.”
Giulio Margheri, Associate, OMA: “The installation gives a taste of the different potential treatments, applications
and approaches of designing with natural stone.”
David Mahyari, CEO, SolidNature: “We are excited to be working with Ellen and Giulio again for the second
installation of our presence in Milan, and to continue to develop our longstanding relationship with OMA.”
The exhibition is on view during Milan Design Week from 17 to 23 April, at Via Cernaia 1, Milan.
Beyond the Surface follows on from Monumental Wonders, SolidNature’s first installation designed by OMA,
which took place at Alcova during Milan Design Week 2022.
These photographs are made by Marco Cappelletti.
Courtesy of OMA and SolidNature
Photograph by Arthur Wong
超越
表面
SolidNature 在第二屆米蘭設計週上委託 OMA 設計一個裝置，探索天然石材從地質形成到成品的旅程。這個裝置旨在呈現石材加工的複雜過程，並藉由它的形式和設計向觀眾展示石材在建築和室內設計中的美學和實用價值。OMA 的設計將將這些想法呈現出來，創造出一個獨特的展示空間，透過石材的形態、質地和色彩，帶領觀眾探索石材的多樣性和豐富性，展示 SolidNature 和 OMA 的創新和技術能力，並向全世界展示石材在現代建築和室內設計中的重要性。
此展覽位於布雷拉區的19世紀卡薩·馬維里（Casa Maveri）中，分為兩個部分：一個地下室的展區空間，展示石材的形成、開採和加工過程；以及一個受邀的藝術家所設計的石材家具，位於宮殿花園的露天展區。在地下室中，石材呈現為大型粗糙的板塊，完全包覆了房間，彷彿在地球地殼下的一段旅程中。而在花園裡，石材成為了整個展覽期間不同活動的背景。這兩個空間通過一個天藍色縞瑪瑙體量相連，其中包含了一個用多彩大理石製成的樓梯，展現石材在建築和室內設計中的美學和實用價值，並透過地下與露天空間的巧妙搭配，帶領觀眾感受石材的豐富性和多樣性。
在與邀請的眾設計師的合作之下，花園展示了他們個人對天然石材加工的見解。OMA合夥人Ellen van Loon表示：「今年的展覽，探討自然的力量，展示了天然石材形成過程中的壓縮和凝固過程，呈現了我們現今所知道的天然石材。」OMA副合夥人Giulio Margheri：「這個展覽提供了設計與應用天然石材的不同可能性和方法。」SolidNature的CEO David Mahyari表示：「我們很高興再次與Ellen和Giulio合作，這是我們在米蘭的第二次展出，我們也會持續貢獻並與OMA的長期合作關係。」透過此展，同時展現SolidNature與OMA之間的創新和技術能力。
《Beyond the Surface》展覽繼2022年米蘭設計週期間在Alcova舉辦的《Monumental Wonders》展覽之後進行。此展將深入挖掘天然石材的多樣性和美學價值，展現天然石材的不同處理方法和應用，同時呈現設計師和藝術家對石材加工的創新和技術能力，透過地下室和露天花園的不同空間展示這些特點，觀眾可以藉此展覽深入了解石材的故事。
Photo by Marco Cappelletti, courtesy of OMA and SolidNature
