Whereas, generally speaking, the traditional idea of the “mattonella” (‘tile’) as a construction element has become somewhat dated, in contemporary parlance the term is now synonymous with the idea of modules, units of measurement and building blocks.
“M” for MODULE
A lexicon of shades to mix together.
The gradual, constant engineering of the production processes of architectural ceramics has made it possible to manufacture larger and larger sizes and develop more precise and interesting colour reproduction systems.
At the same time, it has helped to make the potential, minimal flaws in the finished product completely imperceptible: while on one hand this has had the beneficial outcome of raising quality standards to extremely high levels, on the other it has led to a reflection on the risk of eliminating the visual variety created by the sequential repetition of the imprecise ceramics of the past.
With the Cromatica collection, Formafantasma investigates the possibilities offered by the “colour factor” in contemporary ceramics manufacturing, at the same time meeting the need for seamless coverings which stand out for their fascinating potential for creating compositions of individual pieces based on the module and never monotonous.
“M” for MULTIPLE
Sequential repetition as a design element.
Visual variety is created by the sequential repetition of individual pieces that originally belonged to a larger surface.
In the case of Cromatica, the underlying ceramic element is in the large, imposing 120×240 cm size; this colour surface contains lots of different colour gradients, shades that are subsequently individually “isolated” in the submultiple sizes of 12×24 cm and 6×24 cm – a tenth of the size of the large slab and then halved again.
The grille created by these size combinations assumes the role of architectural element, useful for organising the space in rhythmically modular partitions.
“M” for MEASUREMENT
The large size and its submultiples.
“Indoors, covering surfaces tend to be repetitive and monotonous. Using the large size’s potential, we decided that our ceramic slabs could be used both with their original dimensions and as smaller-sized tiles, produced by means of very simple cuts.”
— Andrea Trimarchi & Simone Farresin
