patricia urquiola with budri: nat(f)use for marmomacc

installation view of ‘nat(f)use’ by patricia urquiola in collaboration with budri for marmomacc presented at milan design week 2012 image © designboom

in a collaboration with italian marble company budri spanish born designer patricia urquiola has conceived ‘nat(f)use’ a range of irregular furniture objects and wall coverings made from the offcuts and residual pre-cut slabs of colourful stone. developed for marmomacc‘s ‘mutable spirit’ exhibition, urquiola’s collection was presented during milan design week 2012 as part of the fair’s installation at the triennale di milano.

the pieces of ‘nat(f)use see a range of colourful tablets being inlaid into modular frames, whereby the solid stone medium develops an unusual relationship with its surrounding setting. urquiola has integrated marble with other mediums such as glass, wood and resin,  resulting in a collection that has a japanese influence, recognized in the modular panels, tables and low-lying objects.

marmomacc is an international fair which focuses on highlighting a range or projects realized with various companies that work primarily with stone in their material and design production.

a slab of white is combined with resin to create this table top image © designboom

‘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

detail of the fusion of materials image © designboom

low tables: one featuring a wooden frame with cut-off slabs of stone finishing the sides; while the other is composed of stacked pieces which result in a more monolithic form image © designboom

detail of the table’s slabbed layers

off-cut pieces of onyx and marble stone are arranged in such a way to create irregular-shaped vessels image © designboom

marble and onyx vases image © designboom

patricia urquiola’s original ‘nat(f)use’ installation presented at marmomacc’s ‘mutable spirit’ exhibition

various pieces of marble and limestone were cut and finished with varying textures to create a floor covering

full view of the floor covering whose finish gives the cold marble and limestone a softer, warmer appearance

working with a range of pre-cut coloured marble stone,  urquiola has also created a range of wall coverings and modular panels

semicircular bench in marble and wood

zig-zag cut stone slab benches