“Percorsi in Ceramica” Berlin’s Sapphire

An important new project from Studio Libeskind, created in collaboration with Casalgrande Padana.

The successful collaboration between Casalgrande Padana and Daniel Libeskind continues with an important new creation in Berlin: the Sapphire is a new residential complex which – as well as clearly bearing the hallmarks of Libeskind’s distinctive style – represents a challenge from both a construction and technological standpoint, underlining the symbiotic relationship between architecture and construction.

Percorsi in Ceramica has opted for an original approach to profiling the work, emphasising the perfect balance between creative forms, practical requirements, technological innovation, and all-round quality.

Drawing on the experiences of those directly involved in the design process, the magazine analyses the project and digs deeper into the most interesting areas: the iconic originality of the building, its unusual lines, and the sophistication of its internal spaces – which encourage another way of living – and a casing which itself poses a challenge within the challenge. It is a skin of Bios Self-Cleaning Antibacterial® porcelain stoneware with a 3D surface. These tiles belong to the Fractile line, designed by Libeskind himself, and are exclusively produced by Casalgrande Padana. Over 3600 ceramic pieces were used for the cladding, with upwards of 3100 of these cut to measure in order to fit the complex geometry of the design down to the millimetre. The cladding is supported by a highly energy efficient ventilated façade system developed by Padana Engineering, the department of Casalgrande Padana focusing solely on this type of complex project.

In the second part of the magazine, we provide a wealth of useful information on the many cultural activities and production avenues on the Casalgrande Padana agenda at the current time, as well as bringing news of an important award won by Earth by Pininfarina.

First and foremost, we announce the packed schedule of design events set to take place at the Creative Centre in Milan. Organised in collaboration with Casabella Formazione, the events are split into two broad cycles: the first is dedicated to several important architectural studios, who will introduce some of their recent works, while the second is set to showcase a number of movies and short films around the theme of Cinema and Architecture.

On top of that, we’ll look back at the new products unveiled by Casalgrande Padana at the most recent edition of Cersaie, including the Marmoker, Pietre di Paragone, Beton, and Resina collections. Finally, we look in more detail at the Earth by Pininfarina collection’s success at the prestigious Muuuz Awards 2017.