Marble Designer

Patricia Urquiola

An oversize enchanted garden, interpreted by pieces from the Landscape collection for Rosenthal, where natural materials like marble, stone and onyx disport themselves in a splendour of pale and dark, light and shadow, bas-relief and shadow, gap and solid. Surrounded by a “grilliage”, the composition is served to the public on an embroidered tray, where the guest feels like “Alice In Wonderland”, surrounded by huge vases with different forms of ornamentation, overturned cups used as seats, and bowls that aspire to become tanks. The super-sophisticated textures are not just surface decorations; they become a kind of bas-relief inspired by the idea of an elegant virus invading form, expressed in different heights and concave and convex shapes, or only visible through transparencies. A contemporary interpretation, a coming-together of the traditional “engraving” technique and numerically controlled machine drilling. Natural colours and vegetation bring the scenario to life.

After the success of Marbleous Garden, the garden of stone, presented by Interni Design Energies and Marmomacc Verona Fiere, Patricia Urquiola leads us through a digital-biological microcosm, a fascinating environment inhabited by natural forms that are usually invisible, those of vegetable micro organisms (the micrasterias). Finely inlaid graphic forms emerge through the stunning colours of natural stones. This installation was created with the aid of more than 30 types of marble and onyx, chosen and shaped with the greatest compositional care. The installation consists of a variety of patterns, forming a long inlaid, openwork carpet, a tropical mat. Thanks to the genius of Patricia Urquiola, Budri has been given a wonderful opportunity to apply new production techniques, mixing materials of different kinds and overlapping marble and wood in warm shades. It is an amazing scene; in the wide spectrum of colours, the shades of marble prevail, including Bamboo Green, Green Bowenite, Green Onyx, Pakistan Green, Ming Green, and many others. The shades of blue vary from Azul Macaubas to Sodalite, Azul Cielo through to Rosewood, which contrast with the range of reds such as Tiger Onyx, Cloud Onyx, Breccia de Vendome and Jasper. One moves lightly through this environment, protected by a pure, silent space created in Sivec White Marble.

The eye is led on to admire the elegant complexity of this inlaid carpet more than 12 metres long, which as well as stone also includes attractive interactions with other natural materials, including Iroku wood and grass. The installation seems to be endless, running from the floor onto the walls, and it is when vertical that the three-dimensional nature of Macrosterias surprises and delights the most: stone becomes a completely malleable material, transformed into a fabric, sometimes given a quilted effect, sometimes a pixel look, constantly changing its appearance. Winged insects mix with floral decorations; one seems to be walking through a Caribbean Eden.
The Open Space is dominated by the gigantic bench of 40 m2, its honeycomb compartments inlaid with Green Bowenite, superimposed in several levels
The two sections of the stand are separated by openwork inlaid panels in Carrara White marble, an osmotic membrane with a jalousie screen effect, maintaining contact between the two exhibition areas . The metamorphosis of stone is constantly evolving, as it becomes a more and more hybrid, lightweight, flexible form of matter. Once again, Marble Design reminds the world of architecture that natural stone has a history as old as that of man himself, that it is an intense material, rich in colours, and the source of infinite inspirations, today as never before.

It was a great pleasure to work with Budri, because they gave me so many opportunities with regard to inlay, enabling me to venture into a very interesting field. Experiences of this kind fuel my creativity .... working with marble is the exact opposite of Industrial Design, because marble is a very powerful hybrid, a historic material that is still being reinterpreted today. The project with Budri was extremely stimulating, because they achieved things that I believed were impossible. When I sent in some drawings, I thought, “No, they’ll never manage these,” – and now here they are. And this is wonderful.

Patricia Urquiola

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