Augmented Surface. Design by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel

The Cortile della Farmacia (Courtyard of the Pharmacy) of Milan University, as part of the Interni Material Immaterial exhibition, and the Marazzi showro-om on Via Borgogna, display Marazzi porcelain stonewares produced for the Augmented Surface project using an innovative surface treatment.


An apparently simple concept implemented on a large scale highlights the courtyard's beautiful Renaissance proportions and adds an imaginary dimension to space. Augmented Surface, by the Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel firm, showcases Marazzi porcelain stoneware, produced for the occasion with the aid of an innovative surface treatment, in the Cortile della Farmacia and at the Marazzi showroom on Via Borgogna.

By means of a theatre-style installation of backdrop-like mirror panels, the courtyard seems to be transformed into two of itself, although half of it is actually unchanged. This optical illusion creates a perfectly symmetrical architectural interior, decorated with the visual and chromatic richness of porcelain stoneware slabs, applied to the wall of the cloisters and on the ground. Aug-mented Surface consists of mirror panels six metres high and carefully positioned slabs, obliquely lit from below.

The stoneware, in the 150x75cm size, was laser printed slab by slab, to produce the final image by a mosaic-like process. As well as the research needed to obtain the surface effects they re-quired, the challenge for the architects and Marazzi was to produce hundreds of different slabs, each of them printed from its own file.

Augmented Surface celebrates the tactile beauty and performance of porcelain stoneware, easy to handle and creative in its surface finishes, a characteristic not found in any other engineering material.

In the photogallery, Augmented Surface - indoor e outdoor – in the pictures by Omnia Advert and Saverio Lombardi Vallauri.

Special thanks to:
Maxalto: Chaise Longue Febo, Table Recipio – design Antonio Citterio
Flos: Table lamp Copycat – design Michael Anastassiades
FontanaArte: Table lamp Pinecone – design: Paola Navone

Augmented Surface                                                                            
INTERNI Material Immaterial                                                          
Università degli Studi di Milano                                                      
Via Festa del Perdono, 7
Milano

3-9 April 2017, 10 am to midnight                                                   
10-14 April from 10 am to 10 pm
15 April from 10 am to 6 pm     

Marazzi Showroom     
Via Borgogna,2 - Durini Design District
Milano     
4-8 April 2017, 10 am to 9 pm