Marazzi’s Brooklyn porcelain stoneware tiles have recently been used during the renovation of a leading architecture firm’s offices in Milan. These concrete-effect tiles were idea for an interior space with a metropolitan, contemporary mood.
Whether laid out for co-working or more classical in approach, offices are increasingly becoming a stimulating area for design, where creativity and experimentation can be effectively expressed. Traditionally regimented in both their working dynamics and their use of space, nowadays offices demand a design approach more responsive to the modern criterion of fluidity in the workplace, which demands interiors more tailored to people’s needs, less impersonal and providing a more comfortable, homely environment. The renovation of the Studio Tenca & Associati offices in Milan centred on this need for freshness and a dynamic aesthetic in keeping with these modern working practices.
The offices were opened in 1945 and were designed in line with the dictates of the period: a large room housing two drawing-boards and several desks, a meeting-room, a spacious area for the principal and his secretary and, of course, a cloakroom. Over time, in response to the need to keep up to date and respond to the latest trends in architecture and the most innovative engineering, minor changes were made to the layout and organisation of the premises.
Eventually, the decision was made to introduce radical changes, transforming the office into a functional open space which would also contain as many as possible of the finishes and furnishings available on the market, to provide inspiration for staff and clients alike. The renovation project aimed to create a context which would perfectly reflect the architecture firm’s working approach, so more playful corners to tweak design creativity were also provided.
The Brooklyn range of ceramic floor tiles was inspired by concrete. In fine porcelain stoneware, the collection evokes a metropolitan atmosphere in strictly neutral colours. The Brooklyn collection comes in six neutral colours: Grey, Anthracite, Mocha, Multi-grey, Sand and White. It has an appealing, lightly-textured, satin finish. Brooklyn can be laid on the floors or walls and is suitable for areas with heavy traffic. The available formats are 300 by 1,200, 600 by 1,200 and 600 by 600mm.
A new post by Joe Simpson, Diary of a Tile Addict, July 2017.
