Moreno Ratti who was born in 1982 in Carrara, Italy, continued his works after studying architecture in Florence. He won the “Between Architecture and the City” International Architecture Ideas Competition in 2008. Ratti, who grew up playing with the waste marble pieces, has devoted himself to design inspired by this material since 2013 and has specialized in marble design. COMB, one of the important designs has become one of the best stone projects of the last 50 years that the designer exhibited at Marmomac, which is known as the world’s most comprehensive marble and natural stone fair in 2014. Looking for new ways to use marble, the designer often emphasizes the contradictions of natural resource waste and pushes the boundaries of design with waste materials. We have compiled the Iceberg, Sponge and Introverso2 designs of Ratti, who transforms marble into timeless designs by using different cutting techniques and production technology in his works produced with a minimal style, and dedicates his career to sustainable materials and processes.
Iceberg
Moreno Ratti’s “Iceberg”, which he designed to draw attention to the question that “What will we do when water runs out of in the world?”, reflects a 3-stage process. In the first stage of design, while the plant can be fed when the water level is sufficient; then the water level decrease, the plant can’t absorb the water, and in the final stage, when the water level decreases completely, the plant can’t fed and dies. This minimal design consists of marble material, which Ratti prefers as its porous structure absorbs the water that is put inside and delivers it to the plant and a glass flowerpot. Iceberg, emphasizes not using more water than we need while expressing the water problem we faced with a very simple language.
Sponge
Designed with travertine marble, “Sponge” is a flower pot produced without using any waste materials in its construction. Each piece in the collection, which is designed in 3 different sizes with diameters of 10, 12 and 22 cm, consists of two pieces, a glass base, and a travertine marble top. Travertine marble, as the name suggests, absorbs the water in the glass container like a sponge, contributing to the life and development of the flower. This custom-made flowerpot also explores how the minerals and salts found in the holes of the marble material can help nourish the plants while being absorbed by the water. While the design highlights the texture of marble with its simplicity, it exhibits a strong stance balanced with the solidity of the stone and transparent glass.
Introverso2
“Introverso2”, designed by Moreno Ratti with Paolo Ulian, is a double-character marble vase with another silhouette in a different form. In this design, which is articulated with two surface proposals, the first form is a rectangular prism formed by a series of marble contours with rhythmic and horizontal spaces; the second figure is a metamorphic silhouette made up of sinuous curves hidden in the interior. Revealing the different identities of marble, the design allows users to decide to preserve the original form of the vase, as well as to create and edit the second shape from the first form with the help of a hammer to break the marble slats. In this way, it allows users to feel like the artists involved in the creation of the object.
