SolidNature wins Fuorisalone award with Beyond the Surface | Milan Design week 2023

Last year’s exhibition by SolidNature showed what could be done out of natural stone like marble, you might remember this from Alcova 2022. 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.

Beyond The Surface

‘Beyond The Surface’ the exhibition that received the Fuorisalone 2023 award was an immersive multi-sensory experience. Descending via a staircase made of multi coloured marble, I discovered a sequence of rooms which reimagine the process of manufacturing and processing marble and create a sequence of sensory experience. Again also here fragrance was part of the experience. It was really impressive and you might have seen already some of it in my milan stories. 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.

For the garden, OMA’s role was more that of a curator. They 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. See a great overview of the exhibition and the different collaborations at SolidNature

SolidNature X Sabine Marcelis

For Milan Design Week 2023, lauded Dutch designer and long-time collaborator Sabine Marcelis created a dining table and accompanying bar. The theme ‘Beyond The Surface’ inspired her to design a 7m long table, with seating and separate bar, composed of 6 different types of travertine connected by colour treated glass.

Sabine Marcelis: “With the theme ‘Beyond the Surface’ I really wanted to zoom in on exactly that. the surface of the table is traditionally focussed on and what gives its function. I wanted to focus on the feet below and presentation volumes above the surface instead with the surface being merely a transparent point of connection. The feet below and volumes above are made from natural stone and the surface from natural stone and surface from my signature colour treated glass. I invited Laila Gohar to work with me on activation what happened above the surface of the table.”

Images via SolidNature and vosgesparis