Ceramic Tiles of Italy - Exercises in Architecture
Introduction by Assopiastrelle
Association of Italian Ceramic Tile and Refractory Manufacturers
A material that comes from the past with an intense disposition towards the future. Convinced of this, the Italian tile industry has challenged itself under the banner of the international trademark Ceramic Tiles of Italy, experimenting and reaching new technical and aesthetic frontiers. So, it enhanced the identity of an ancient product, by adding new an unusual features to a material rich in history and allure: the ceramic tile. It is worth stressing than Ceramic Tiles of Italy -in addition to the export of hundreds of millons of square metres of finished product per year- also represents technology, quality, innovation, and design. This is the background of "Exercises in Architecture", a project that has given surprising results and promotion at international level the subject of varios travelling exhibits, expositions at trade shows, and countless reviews in the media. It was a challenge started in the last few years and still ongoing, involving training courses carried out in co-operation with Domus Academy and continuing this year with Cumulus -the European Association of Universities and Institutes of Arte, Design, and Media.
In 2005, young architecture and interior design students engaged in functional and aesthetic research and experimentation on the ceramic product and its innovative architectural applications. The competitors -hailing from four important European schools- attended Ceramic Tiles of Italy training seminars and then developed their projects concretely with the contribution of the Italian tile industry, which supported them in the phases of material testing.
Thanks to the assistance of leading Italian tile manufacturers, these projects have taken definitive shape, and developed in a series of experimental ceramic prototypes that will be presented in the Cersaie Village exhibit at Cersaie 2005, the Iinternational Exhibition of Ceramic for the Building Industry and Bathroom Furnishings held each year in Bologna.
