The Panariagroup's large, ultra-thin slabs for the Vatican Chapels are at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition. Curated by Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell, the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, titled FREESPACE will be open to the public from May 26th to November 25th 2018.
Ten chapels immersed in the quiet of the Cini Foundation garden in Venice illustrate the Holy See's Vatican Chapels Pavilion project in a unique and harmonious setting. The Panariagroup participated by building the chapel designed by the architect Francesco Cellini.
Made entirely from Panariagroup's large, thin porcelain stoneware slabs, Francesco Cellini's architectural work highlights the extraordinary design potential of these innovative slabs and their synergistic dialogue with the surrounding environment.
The clean and essential lines of the rectangular parallelepiped form of the chapel are enhanced by the thin ceramic surfaces that allow the lightness and rationality of the architecture to be preserved and express the material aesthetics of the project.
These elements express the technical and qualitative excellence of large thin porcelain stoneware slabs, which are among the most innovative materials in contemporary architecture and of which the Panariagroup is a market leader. These surfaces are revolutionising the use of the product in the world of design thanks to the technological innovation that has transformed them and expanded their aesthetic value and potential uses: from wall and floor coverings to furniture elements, from ventilated walls to cladding of large architectural works.
The very thin (5.5 mm), large format laminated stoneware slabs (100x300cm) chosen by the architect Cellini from among the Cotto d'Este, Panaria Ceramica and Lea Ceramiche products, are an expression of these characteristics, which are essential to the design with advanced technical qualities, versatility, durability and the contrasting effect of the glossy and matt surfaces that reflect the surrounding space.
This unique product, thinner and more resistant than traditional stoneware, and, at the same time, light and flexible, is available in different thicknesses - 3.5mm, 5.5mm and 6.5mm reinforced with fiberglass and 6mm - and in large sizes - from 100 x 300cm, 120 x 260cm and their sub sizes.