MGM asked Italian architect and designer Massimo Iosa Ghini to design a new marble collection to be manufactured by their company, Guarda Marbles & Stones Srl. He came up with a brand new line called Concavo Convesso Collection, composed of a table, coffee table, vase, chair and bookshelf entirely made of marble.
As a result of this interview, conducted at iSaloni on 15 April 2015, the Pearl table was selected as an ArchiExpo favorite. The round base plate is connected to the large round table top by a series of spheres of various colors. Beautiful as it is, it’s during this interview that we discover the ecological importance of this piece.
ArchiExpo e-Magazine: Before getting into the new collection, can you tell us about your most recent architecture projects?
Iosa Ghini: Maybe it’s the Citta Dei Ragazzi, the Little City for Boys. The building is managed by an Italian church. They started building this recreational center for boys now and it will be complete in one year. It’s a very simple architecture because it’s made of brick. It’s not too far from my city, Bologna, and you know the main material of Bologna is red brick. We use this very standard brick with wood as the structure and with brick as the perimeter. But it’s very simple. We didn’t have a big budget. It’s a social project because we had an earthquake three years ago and this ‘house for boys’ had been destroyed. With the church we tried to recover the situation.
Another project is People Mover. It’s a shuttle made of the physical elements of three stations and a railway. You have a railway, pillars and an electric shuttle. One station is at the airport, one is in the middle in an area where there is a project for the construction of a new university and the last one is at the train station. We’re working on this shuttle as another social project because it’s electric, meaning less pollution, and I think the people of my city will enjoy this service more. These are projects in evolution now.
ArchiExpo e-Magazine: How is the current economic situation affecting the world of architecture?
Iosa Ghini:Italy is in a moment of ‘crisis’. Everyone is talking about the crisis, but it’s not really true. I think we’re in the middle of a Renaissance. Not a big one, but we’re not in such a deep crisis like the media is stating. Anyway, I enjoy working on projects that are necessary.
ArchiExpo e-Magazine: Projects responding to people’s needs are indeed really important, more so than simply being showy.
Iosa Ghini: In any case you have to understand that I’m a Gemini. I have a double personality. Really! I am used to living with these two Massimos. When I draw, I am myself and I do something for me. If somebody likes it or is interested in it, okay, but it’s for me. Then I have another life where I am an interpreter of necessities where I have to find solutions. You know, it’s not the same work. But I don’t like the idea of renouncing my two sides.
You can find the story of my life on the Internet and discover the two Massimos.
ArchiExpo: Here at MGM’s stand we see a bit of the playful Massimo. Can you tell us about the new collection?
Iosa Ghini:The story of this project is very simple. I knew these people that work with marbles and stones [MGM] because I use a lot of stones and marble in my projects for interiors, mostly in Moscow and New York, but other places too. I had some ideas while designing the atrium of hotels and condominiums. My channel is the curve. I have a curved channel. It’s not straight. When I start to design something, I think about the different ways of working around this kind of material. You can cut straight through marble, but with my curved channel I think of how I can use curves: convex or concave. You can sculpt blocks of marble, too.
I started designing a table, a bookshelf and this is the story. I’m fascinated by the fact that every stone has a character and combining these different stones is interesting. This collection has been cut through technology or by hand. You take a piece of stone and you cut, like a sculpture.
ArchiExpo e-Magazine: When you cut away, do you use what’s left? Say you take a big block of marble and sculpt the table out of the block. You have quite a bit of marble left. What do you do with it?
Iosa Ghini:You don’t lose anything. For instance, the table [Pearl] with the spheres follows this principle. The pieces are small and it’s easier to create them by using the remaining parts.
When asked if he had been able to look around the fair yet, Iosa Ghini explained that he’d just arrived. He has agreed to give a personal report on his impressions of this year’s iSaloni once he has had sufficient time. His endless list of contacts has him at multiple stands around the fair, so we look forward to hearing how his tour goes.
