Sustainable design is not just about respecting the environment and using green materials for the sake of it, it is about designing architecture that can re-establish a connection between man and nature and with the ability to grow and consolidate in harmony with its context. It also means investigating the relationship between nature and technology in a complex way, imagining new possibilities for bringing the extremes closer together, and avoiding dualisms.

Franco Umberto Marmi is pursuing this line of investigation, which for Marmomac (26-29 September 2023) presents 'From Nature to the Metaverse'. The project has been developed with the MM Design studio and is exhibited in the context of Material Match Up, an event curated by ADI that takes place within The Plus Theatre space (Hall 10).

MM Design experiments through FUM marble with the combination of a material with a long history and new metal surfaces, ultra-reflective finishes, iridescent effects, dichroic colour shades.

On the one hand, the studio transfers the multiple geometries and complex shapes found in nature to the surface of marble, making it, if possible, even more appealing as it comes to 'life' and acquires 'movement'. On the other hand, it enriches marble surfaces with a whole new charm, proposing imprints and engravings developed on a relief design. We move with great fluidity from geometric patterns to organic shapes, from the rawest to the finest and most impalpable textures, from the knitted effect to a relief of the vein of marble that is completely similar to leather.

“From Nature to the Metaverse” features some of FUM's best proposals: Calacatta 900, Statuario, Grigio Collemandina and Bardiglio. The surfaces have been worked in the different finishes of bush-hammered, matt and glossy, thanks to precise laser engravings, and then proposed on a moodboard exemplifying the treatments that can be applied to the products.

The refined “mirror” reflective effect or the transparent metallic reflection applied to the marble surface reveal, enhancing its natural texture and bringing surprising colours and reflections to the observer's attention.