The installation encourages reflection, self-reflection, and listening

Materica, which specializes in the wire metallization of the most diverse surfaces, participated in Milano Design Week for the first time with its own installation: INTERNA_MENTE. In this immersive experience, the Italian company explored its alchemical ability to transform materials in surprising and beautiful ways.

Materica - INTERNA_MENTE
Photo credit: courtesy Materica

In an always-open process of experimentation, Materica extracts new expressive capabilities from almost every type of material, including wood, marble, stone, steel, and textiles. An electric arc gun melts wires of pure metal, from brass to bronze, zinc to copper, micronizing them and projecting them at high speed as tiny particles onto the surface to be coated. The metal particles immediately adhere to a pre-treated surface and quickly cool, thus preserving the material and coating even its finest details. It is an extremely versatile process that ennobles even the simplest and seemingly poorest materials, following geometries and enhancing textures or, in other cases, smoothing and homogenizing even the most rough, uneven surfaces. The metal can then be further treated - oxidized, colored, silvered, antiqued, or polished - for a wide variety of characters and sensory effects.

We transform material to create a feeling. Only then do we get the sense that we have reached our goal. On the boundaries between art and craftsmanship, design and technique, we find that alchemy, based on secret recipes that we fine-tune depending on the materials and the aesthetic challenges at hand. That may involve giving a metallic appearance to compostable polystyrene, encapsulating a rich velvet, or gilding a “plain” material like OSB

Maurizio Orfino, CEO of Materica

In Alcova’s spaces, a former cold storage room became a striking chamber of mirrors. The interior, fully lined in recycled MDF sheets metallized to mirror-like effect, and treated with ever-changing oxidation and coloration processes, created a kaleidoscope of continuous refractions. The interplay of reflections was enriched by numerous color effects, embracing and surrounding visitors by infinitely expanding and dilating the dimensions of the environment.

Materica - INTERNA_MENTE
Photo credit: courtesy Materica

Materica - INTERNA_MENTE
Photo credit: courtesy Materica

In an instant, visitors were transported away from the rest of the world. They entered a suspended, intimate, and hidden dimension, and immediately encountered a mysterious figure that reveals other aspects of Materica’s transformative abilities - a shape that seemed to come from an indefinite horizon, modeled in compostable polystyrene, fully metallized, and reflective like the rest of the installation. The metal wire followed its sinuosity and highlighted its sculptural plasticity. Through transformed matter, cloaked in a new metallic guise and a new identity full of magic and beauty, Materica invited visitors to travel outside of time.

Materica - INTERNA_MENTE
Photo credit: courtesy Materica

Materica - INTERNA_MENTE
Photo credit: courtesy Materica

About Materica

Materica is a company active in the world of design, architecture, and luxury. Its specialty is metallization, which is the fusion of metal wires onto different and heterogeneous surfaces. With forty years of experience, the company is recognized as a leader in the art of metal coatings and a trusted partner to many clients, enhancing their objects with signature quality and precision. Materica is also able to act as a single point of contact for complete projects: it can create finished products based on simple digital files.

About GuardiniCiuffredaStudio

GuardiniCiuffredaStudio is an interdisciplinary design studio formed by the duo of Tiziano Guardini and Luigi Ciuffreda. Guardini is a renowned fashion designer and sustainability expert who has earned numerous awards and collaborates with internationally-recognized companies and institutions. Ciuffreda is an architect and designer with extensive experience in design at multiple scales, and a professor at the Milan Academy of Communication and Raffles Milano. Together, Guardini and Ciuffreda combine their knowledge and experience to create design projects that embrace environmental sustainability and social responsibility, aesthetic beauty and functionality. Their studio creates products, spaces, and installations that combine art, architecture, and design to create innovative and unique solutions for their clients.