Urban and Domestic Landscapes is the name of the installation that Lea Ceramiche will be presenting for Milan Design Week 2014 in its showroom at n. 3, via Durini, Milan. Two exhibitions spread over two levels, explore the use of different techniques in ceramic coverings and the possible applications in architectural and domestic projects.
The first floor exhibit is designed by HOK Product Design, the international architecture, design and engineering firm with 24 offices in America, Europe and Asia. Colour and movement are the principles defining the installation. To the right a “big colour wall” crosses the space displaying overlapping, staggered rectangular modules (12.5x50cm) with a vibrant pattern of colour, recalling the tones and colours of the sea, the earth and grasslands. The technique required to fit the modules is utilizes rectangular tiles lain with a specific system that gives the modules a stacked appearance slightly reminiscent of roof tiles. The overall visual effect is of a surface in motion, where colour is the predominant element, created by coloured dots and an infinity of pixels, giving the collection its name. Pixel can be used for covering the exteriors of buildings but can also be used for the floors and walls of large spaces. Pixel highlights the importance of ceramic coverings for reinventing architecture and surfaces. Light, colour, shape and texture are closely related; they change our perception of space and suggest new and unusual urban landscapes.
To the left of this exhibit, HOK Product Design turns the wall into a huge slot-together puzzle. Nest is the name of the collection; inspired by shapes found in the natural world. The series consists of irregular modules (100cm side) used together to create large hexagonal shapes. A virtual puzzle of endless jigsaw pieces that draws attention to the unconventional use of ceramics. This design gives the surface structure and personality, changing the architectural and domestic landscape of any city, in close contact with the colours of nature.
“We have had an incredibly positive experience working with Cesare Cabani, Elisa Bellucci and their team at Lea Ceramiche. Our design team was interested in using Lea Ceramiche’s new Slimtech line, which uses Microban Antimicrobial Technology,” says HOK Product Design’s Grossinger. “The original idea behind Pixel was to ‘blow-up’ an image that has been converted from print to a digitized image – or pixelated. Pixel can be used in larger scale spaces in both architectural and residential projects. Nest is a series of hexagons and triangles, affectionately called PacMan that can be used in a myriad of layouts to let designers use their imagination. HOK Product Design also worked with Lea to increase color saturation in the Slimtech line to allow for great variation in the collection. Both Pixel and Nest can be used on walls and floors, even in high traffic spaces.”
After the preview at Cersaie, the Lea Ceramiche showroom in via Durini is accommodating a new presentation of Type-32, designed by Diego Grandi. The exhibit highlights the intrinsic features of the series prominently displaying the variations in the colour and graphics of the product while dazzling the eye with the infinite possible combinations displayed on the walls and floors. The Type-32 collection employs a method of overlapping two layers to achieve dynamic colors and textures present in the tile. The first layer is more textural, consisting of a silk-screen design that replicates the appearance of wood. The second is more graphic, consisting of a decoration based on recurring oblique lines creating four unique patterns. These four patterns, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, are available in two hot or cold colours and are overlapped with four base colours creating a total of 32 different elements that make up the collection. Like the letters in a new decorative alphabet, the elements can be combined to create a potentially infinite surface; a large rug playing on the themes of illusion and memory, with a design recalling the traditional patterns of parquet floors.
The Type-32 project is new and unique in pattern and sizes. Instead of working with standard sizes, Type-32 turns to the long panels of Lea Slimtech (20 x 200 cm) presented in the new 5.5 mm thickness. In addition, this innovative tile features extremely versatile laying solutions with endless potential combinations of wood colours, textures and tones. The new digital printing technique enables optimum and efficient production process management which guarantees excellent delivery times for orders.
These innovative new lines offer a vision of the domestic landscape, resonating with a kinship to nature while combining patterns and colours for endless creative solutions.
Urban and Domestic Landscapes
Pixel and Nest, design by HOK Product Design
Type-32 Slimtech, design by Diego Grandi
Lea Ceramiche Showroom
Via Durini 3, Milan
7th – 13th April 2014
HOK Product Design
Founded in 2009, HOK Product Design®, LLC is an independent business that engages designers who use design thinking to create innovative products for the built environment. Our company partners with manufacturers to develop new ideas that enhance their portfolios while strengthening their market presence. HOK Product Design has received three design patents and three utility patents, and has trademarked names including Eco-System and Freno Rain Garden. Our firm has received the prestigious Best of Neocon Gold, Silver, Innovation and Editor’s Choice Awards for four products. Our work has been profiled in Interiors & Sources, Architect, Fast Company Design, Contract, Landscape Architecture, OfficeInsight, Form and Healthcare Design. Susan Grossinger is a twenty year veteran of HOK and was Director of Interiors in Los Angeles for 15 years prior to taking the Product Design leadership role. She has also been a member of the firmwide Board of Directors, Marketing Board and Interiors Board.
HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. Through a network of 24 offices worldwide, HOK provides design excellence and innovation to create places that enrich people’s lives and help clients succeed. In 2012, for the third consecutive year, DesignIntelligence ranked HOK as the #1 role model for sustainable and high-performance design.
