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Ceramics are discovering fresh, original applications in the furniture sector: tables, sideboards, low cupboards and coffee tables.
These new application potentials have now given us Shangai by Riflessi, created by the well-known furniture brand in partnership with Marazzi. A table with metal frame and fixed or extending porcelain stoneware top in the most widely varying shapes – rectangular, square, oven and round. The top is in glass stratified bevelled stoneware, in 12 and 15 mm thickness and with rounded corners. The variants available include Marazzi The Top Marble Look and Stone Look surfaces, currently in the glossy Sahara Noir, Sodalite Blu, Verde Borgogna, Capraia, Patagonia and Travertino Classico colours.
We asked Riflessi’s Chairman Mirko Fammiano about the innovative features in the furniture company’s partnership with Marazzi.
“The superlative performances and wide range of textures Marazzi offers dovetail perfectly with Riflessi’s design approach, which is one of tailored furnishings and items which purchasers can customise,” Mirko Fammiano explains. “The performance characteristics of the Marazzi The Top collection enables these tops to be used for many different purposes, and they also deliver the highest standards in the environmental quality of the whole production process.”
You weren’t satisfied with covering just a few items of furniture: at the last Design Week you presented a prototype that’s now in production.
“We’ve worked on a solution we think is versatile and functional,” Luigi Fammiano confirms. “The new concept integrates an induction hob in a The Top ceramic slab, with the user-friendly control display in a concealed, pull-out position. Game-changing, extremely functional and with no aesthetic impact on the top’s design, this “first” was possible thanks to a new technology to be featured on a number of models in the collection, starting with the Shangai table itself.”
A technological innovation that also responds to a new concept of space…
“This product opens out new prospects in terms of socialisation and possible uses, moving beyond the traditional roles of furniture and kitchen worktops. It revolutionises the concept of the island, which now has a lighter, more versatile structure – the frame of a table – although it’s just as solid. The work surfaces can be matched with the finishes of the walls and floor and with the ceramic coverings of the furniture.”
A product evolution verified by certification systems
“With this new induction hob solution, innovation and research come together in a functional, sustainable, safe piece of furniture, able to meet the many new demands of both the residential and the contract markets.
Not to forget that the components are certified – Invisacook for the induction hob, while Marazzi slabs already hold many product and sustainability certificates – and now we’re awaiting certification of the whole system.”
Looking ahead to future trends, what do you think will be the lines of development for next season?
“The preference for compact, matt surfaces and tactile solid colours will continue; the trendiest shades will be green – also inspired by the veining found in stones – taupe, earthy colours and the tones of iron, as well as white. There will also be demand for structured textures and glossy surfaces, which will feature amongst high-end finishes. Digital printing will be popular provided it is high-definition, with a realism matched with the structure, meaning the material’s tactile effect. Marazzi already has the answer to these trends with its The Top collections – Marble Look, Stone Look, Concrete Look, Solid Color and Metal Look – and a set of Premium technologies, including 3D Ink, a state-of-the-art system that combines optical recognition and precision printing with a structured surface.”
All these aspects make the partnership between Riflessi and Marazzi truly unique.