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Pure, sensual materials, appealing to the touch and with colours that remind us of the natural world. From the residential to the contract segments, there’s a trend in interior design towards an aesthetic of authenticity, clearly revealing materials’ innate characteristics, which may even be emphasised for a stronger sensory impact, with structured patterns, uneven surfaces and a tactile hand-crafted look. We’ve recently seen terracotta make a big comeback, used on both walls and floors. Popular for its centrality to the architectural history of the Mediterranean region, terracotta has a rich tradition of installation patterns, finishes and sizes to provide inspiration. And it has always expressed the personality of its place of origin, in the distinctive shades of the clays and the intrinsic composition of the sands used in its making.
After an initial rediscovery of terracotta in a vast range of warm shades, the design frontiers are being pushed back to embrace a wider assortment of colours, also including cold hues better suited to contemporary interior designs, industrial loft conversions and minimalist urban buildings, such as large glazed constructions. But while on the one hand the colouring may be similar to that of concretes, on the other the tactile sensation and texture are those of terracotta itself: grainy and substantial, with shade variations and depth. Cold clay colours enable fresh design options: applications in non-residential contexts, with indoor-outdoor installation, or even contrasting with more classical architectural styles. The reinterpretation of this familiar material in a different shade gives design schemes a distinctive, contemporary air.
Marazzi represents this trend with its Slow Cold collection, which follows on from the existing Slow, itself a fresh take on the terracotta tradition. The Cemento, Salvia, Piombo, Gesso, Nebbia and Cromo colours provide a sophisticated assortment which is still easy to use in tone-on-tone mode within the collection or matched with other materials, from metals to stones and from concretes, resins and synthetics to natural wood varieties.
The interpretation of the terracotta and clay tradition also extends to walls. Earthy materials have been used in Mediterranean countries since time out of mind to create grainy, three-dimensional partitions, latticework screens and solid dividing walls. Echoes of these uses reappear in the contemporary patterns of porcelain stoneware, which sets out to emphasise the tactile expressive potential and ductility of clays. For example, Slow Wall by Marazzi offers two structural solutions and one decor in two warm and two cold colours, from the Slow and Slow Cold collections respectively. These wall coverings are ideal for constructing boiserie panels and walls with uneven surfaces or horizontal and vertical multidirectional patterns. Traditional motifs, like the lattices of old Italian haylofts, acquire a contemporary aesthetic and new interior design applications.
