The historic city markets of San Lorenzo and Sant'Ambrogio in the centre of Florence are two very important places for the local community. Both have recently been the subject of renovation work. The author of both projects is S+S Studio of architects Nicola Spagni and Diletta Storace, in agreement with the Municipality of Florence, the Superintendency and the traders of the structures. It was a choral, complex and delicate work in which the collective objective was to respect the historical values and local tradition and, at the same time, to reinterpret the market space by projecting it into the future. The structural work led to the replacement of the old flooring, which was in poor condition. The choice of the new material was focused on technical ceramics by FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti – a brand of the Iris Ceramica Group – with a collection reminiscent of the city's cobblestones.

We spoke with S+S Studio about their design process and its many facets.The conversation began with a focus on the complexity (but also the beauty) of working on buildings as full of history and meaning as the district markets of San Lorenzo and Sant'Ambrogio. "It was the first time we really dealt with public affairs and it was an incredible emotion.Working for the community has a completely different weight and meaning.The most interesting thing was to analyse critical issues to understand how to improve them.We started slowly, slowly, listening to everyone's needs, and then searched for a coherent response," Nicola Spagni and Diletta Storace tell us. "The intention was to involve the community as much as possible, to make them participate in the choices and in the various steps: feeling involved helped us to be sympathetic to one another." The study's fundamental task was to mediate between all the realities involved, and to try to respond to the perplexities of the 100 workshops present, frightened by the idea of having to close for a long time because of the works. "In this case, the ceramic material came to our aid. Everything was studied: the cuts were simple and, above all, the market trend allowed us to dissect it into sub-units and complete the whole work without anyone noticing."

The choice of material to replace the old paving required a choice that respected the history and building tradition of the site. A decision that had to consider several levels of meaning and take into account various critical issues.The architects from S+S Studio explain: "we needed a pavement that was reminiscent of the city's cobblestones.We had to respond to a problem of form, image and, at the same time, a problem of use, hence technical.Even through dialogue with the Superintendency, we knew that the idea was to recreate the outdoor pavement inside the market.From a historical analysis, we discovered that the market, which was initially a large exhibition greenhouse, had a gravel floor. Only later was it paved in stone. The preliminary study phase, which lasted more or less two to three months, was followed by the operational part. In six months, we managed to understand all the market requirements, difficulties and criticalities. We did a lot of research and testing, we transported and showed the ceramics to a lot of people so that everyone would agree."

Blast colour Grey, in the Active Surfaces® version, the eco-active surfaces with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties (also against SARS-CoV-2), anti-pollution, anti-odour and self-cleaning, certified according to ISO standards, was applied to the indoor area of the Historic Central Market of San Lorenzo, covering a total of 2500 square metres. For the 700 square metres of the Sant'Ambrogio market, FMG's Urban Dove collection in the Active Surfaces® version was chosen.

The choice of porcelain stoneware is also motivated by sustainability. A factor that no designer today can evade. "Stone is no longer a sustainable material if one even considers extraction or transport. We liked to equate a natural material like stone with a highly technological material like ceramics. We know that ceramics today is the material with the lowest impact on the environment. We liked the concept of using surfaces that could be representative of a historical material, of using an ancient language but speaking a contemporary language, of using the tools that our contemporaneity, our context makes available to us, while respecting history. Moreover, for those of us who care about sustainability, not only from an energy point of view but also in terms of production, we immediately emphasised the fact that ceramics is a Made in Italy product," say Spagni and Storace.

There are also many other motivations behind the choice of FMG ceramic surfaces, for example: "The Italian company was a fundamental partner, starting with the consultancy. It really managed to marry our needs, those of the Superintendency, which is extremely attentive to an intervention of this kind, and those of the workshops in the market. FMG took the project to heart together with us. The Superintendency and the municipality were able to embrace the innovation, the new system of design, understand the material, its durability and maintenance savings over time."

Finally, we discuss with S+S Studio a small detail, which nevertheless represents well the spirit of the whole project: the positioning of the "memory stones". For the studio it is a project within a project: "About every three metres, the floor will be enriched with the same ceramic surface engraved with a memory, a historical fact, a saying, linked to the geography, the place, the city and our history. This project wants to bring the city's own identity back to the centre. The market is certainly also a place for tourists, but it is mainly the place where the Florentine, the resident or the student goes shopping. The paving with these stones of memory reiterates precisely the occasion to remember us Florentines, our history, the fact that it is not a monumental place or a place of exceptional importance, but it is the place where we walk every day."