SolidNature OMA

Q&A with OMA

What was the brief for this project?
Ellen van Loon: After the exhibition we designed for SolidNature at Alcova last year, we were asked to participate again in this year’s edition of Milan Design Week, this time in a 19^th century palazzo in the Brera district. If last year’s exhibition showed what could be done out of natural stone like marble, 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.

What are the key areas within the exhibition space?
Giulio Margheri: The exhibition takes place in the basement and gardens of the neo-Romanesque Casa Maveri in the Brera District, covering over 500 square meters in total. Visitors enter through a sky-blue onyx volume and descend via a staircase made of multicoloured marble to discover a sequence of rooms which reimagine the process of manufacturing and processing marble and create a sequence of sensory experiences for visitors. In the garden, objects by different designers – a bar, a tribune, a table with seats, and a lounge – serve as backdrop for the different activities hosted during the week.

What was the design process of this project?
Giulio Margheri: We approached the two main areas of the exhibition in different ways. In the basement, we chose to emphasize the confined character of the space by completely cladding the rooms with stone, creating the impression that you are underneath the Earth’s surface. The spaces are meant not only to inform but also give the feeling of the processes that lead to the formation of rocks and the methods through which they are extracted.
For the garden, our role was more that of a curator. We defined the areas where the activities associated with the Design Week would take place and chose the designers of the objects. The installation gives a taste of the different potential treatments, applications and approaches of designing with natural stone.

What was the most exciting part of working with SolidNature?
Ellen van Loon: SolidNature is like a candy shop for architects, so working with them is always an opportunity to discover fascinating materials. We are very happy our collaboration led us to work on a second exhibition which expands on what we showed last year both in terms of scale and complexity.

What would you like for people to experience when they walk through the space?
Ellen van Loon: People rarely experience materials like marble other than fully finished products. In this exhibition we wanted to make visitors aware of the entire process that leads to the final product in a way that appeals to all your senses.

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