The Milan Design Week, the biggest design event in the world, took place last 17 to 23 April 2023.
2023’s themes shed light on sustainable design, innovative materials, urban regeneration and artificial intelligence as a tool to sit side-by-side with man-made design, rather than replace it.
– Saskia O’Donoghue, Euronews
There are several themes but one that I find interesting is the use of sustainable materiality.
The feature image shows a red brown rammed earth wall. This is an ancient technique of making building materials using compacted soils. It has been used by many civilizations and is known as the most durable of the earth-building forms.
The oldest known rammed earth building is about 8000 years old. It is an ancient method that is revived as a sustainable building technique. This was used in building the Great Wall of China, and some forts and monasteries in Tibet.
COMPATTA by Federico Peri
View this post on Instagram
Interior and product designer Federico Peri designed the COMPATTA line in collaboration with CEDIT, part of the Italian Florim group.
Peri: “The idea of the collection is a clearly stated evocation of rammed earth, an age-old construction technique in which rammed earth blocks are used to construct the bearing or internal dividing walls of the home.” COMPATTA is described as “… a unique collection of porcelain stoneware slabs, created using the very latest ceramic product techniques, in which the ‘profoundly ancient’ dialogues with the ‘state of the art’.”
CEDIT is known for technical experimentation and design and has worked with high calibre international designers in the creation of Made in Italy porcelain floor and wall coverings.
“Working with a company like Florim,” said Peri, “is a wonderful opportunity for growth. This helps a designer to become more and more intimately acquainted with matter itself and the production process and to gain a fuller understanding of its limits and perhaps how they may be overcome.”
The Colors of COMPATTA
The images above show a beautiful display of materials and colors to be used in an interior space. These were inspired by the subtle and natural colors of the tiles. In your styling, do take note of the patterns showing the stratification from the different shades of clay used in the COMPATTA line, and use these too in your design if you can.
If you are looking to translate the colors into paint, here is a Boysen paint color palette with names and codes that you can use.
The Natural Colors of Earth
View this post on Instagram
The muted natural colors are a wonderful way to create a subtle elegance in your home. The warm colors of earth can help create a harmonious ambience.
As Peri said, “The idea of the COMPATTA collection is to tell a story of calm, peace, and nature. It is a result of a dialogue with the company on the themes of essentiality, materiality, and sincerity.”
At Let it B, we are fans of colors. Nature colors and earth tones are a favorite. So do subscribe to this blog if you want to explore paint colors that you can use for your home.
