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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Margraf Hanging Gardens by Metrogramma for Marmomacc 2014 at the VeronaFiere, ItalyOctober 22nd, 2014 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Metrogramma Contemporary monumental works hanging amid shapes, visions, and concepts for the challenging installation created by Metrogramma for Margraf at the upcoming edition of Marmomacc (VeronaFiere, September 24-27, 2014).  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma
 Image Courtesy © Metrogramma The presence of this historical Vicenza-based company at this leading showcase for the industry celebrates the beauty of marble, as well as the technological excellence acquired in 108 years of unconditioned research and innovation work. This also provides the opportunity to unveil possible scenarios of coexistence where local landscapes and the unrelenting attempt to retrieve their spacial dimensions go hand in hand with overwhelmingly, mechanical urban skylines permanently dotted with gray clouds and concrete.  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma These scenarios represent the typical duality of this company that loves to match the wild natural streaks and textures of its raw materials with sumptuous and opulent decors and finishings. Metrogramma has fully interpreted and even captured this concept, which is embodied by two extraordinary installations inside and outside the stand respectively, representing this farsighted company based in Chiampo.  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma Hanging Gardens consists of two modular latticed structures of reinforcing bars, arranged in a shaky balance which almost seems to be yearning to be filled with concrete. Instead there are marble slabs hanging randomly and green plants protrude from of the pores and voids of a grid-like structure.  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma The two modules that surround Margraf’s area provide an attractive enclosure of the stand interiors, yet without any solid closure. They are complemented by long standing elements on a slim pedestal supporting an asymmetrical cantilever mimicking cranes: a design reproducing the continuous process of becoming that goes beyond the clearing of the construction yard and continues with the life that animates man-made environments. Climbing plants alternate with marble slabs hanging lightly from the metal cages forming a symbiotic and peaceful coexistence.  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma Outside, the installation features more steadfast and permanent proportions recalling the trees and elevated squares embellished by luscious marble and steel braziers, as well as nature-born sounds. Both constructions are clearly inspired by Yona Friedman’s “feasible utopias” both in terms of the material manifestation and the visionary goal of a peaceful coexistence of man-made artefacts and nature within contemporary urban settings.  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma Marble is a monumental, rugged material that has been traditionally associated with ancient Italian master sculptors. Its combination with the underlying, lightweight sub-structure, designed to bear the slabs, results in a semantic arrangement forming Hanging Gardens that are a new type of counterpoint focusing on monumental endurance rather than the immediate, transitory appearance of the scenographic installation. AK47 for the braziers of the outdoor installation; ARCHITETTURA SONORA for the marble loudspeakers; FPL ARREDA for the furnishing of the two offices.  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma METROGRAMMA is an international architectural firm with offices in Milan, Moscow and Doha. Metrogramma has always interpreted an intellectual concept of architecture rooted in metropolitan spaces, while meeting the local needs through an experimental approach that places human beings and their relationships at the center of the project. Research is fostered by an ongoing dialogue and results in design projects that tell a revolutionary and visionary story of modern classicality. Experimentation understood as a logical pathway and the backbone of evolution lies at the foundation of the firm’s design research.  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma About Margraf Margraf’s story (former Industria Marmi Vicentini) started in Chiampo (province of Vicenza) in 1906. Since its early start, the company devoted to accurate research work and development of new technologies, working in tight collaboration with famous international architects. Today, after more than a century, Margraf is a leading, world stakeholder in this field. Among many other pluses, Margraf owes its worldwide established reputation to its skilful extraction of marble and the ability to transform it into finished, polished slabs or tiny tiles and to provide a huge array of precious materials and excellent products for building construction and architecture (from the cladding of inner and external walls, to interior design items, to bathroom and kitchen decoration). On top of all this, Margraf ensures extensive environmental compliance investing any efforts to minimize any possible kind of environmental impact. This includes the use of cutting-edge technologies, the implementation of landscape recovery and energy savingpractices, as well as the exploitation of renewable resources. Margraf is a perfect merging of past and present forming a first-class enterprise eagerly turned to the future.  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma  Image Courtesy © Metrogramma
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Tags: Italy, VeronaFiere Category: Garden |
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