A series of imaginative designs that celebrate traditional terrazzo tile crafting techniques.
Since 1933, Huguet Mallorca has been manufacturing floor tiles and terrazzo items following Mallorcan traditions. Now, the company collaborates with award-winning designers and architects to create products that are not only beautifully crafted but also beautifully designed. The Huguet x Pentagram exhibition is a perfect example. The project was initiated by Astrid Stavro, a London-based creative director, educator, and designer. A former Pentagram partner, she invited seven other partners from the multi-disciplinary firm to contribute their own designs to a special collection.
Using traditional crafting techniques, Astrid Stavro along with Jody Hudson-Powell, Sascha Lobe, Giorgia Lupi, Jon Marshall, Luke Powell, Yuri Suzuki, and Matt Wiley created a series of objects, tiles and furniture. The designers’ diverse backgrounds in graphic design, sound design, information, and industrial design informed their approach to the project. All of them, however, focused on materiality and artisanal methods. Both imaginative and fun, the objects showcase the potential of terrazzo and the ingenuity of the designers.
A fun and creative exhibition that showcases an ingenious use of terrazzo.
For example, Giorgia Lupi used color and geometric shapes to visualize Frederic Chopin’s 24 Preludes in a tile format. Yuri Suzuki explored the material’s 3D form with a series of figurines that resemble abstract chess pieces. Matt Wiley used cast cement and 16 handmade tiles to create a coffee table that allows the user to change the appearance of the top by simply swapping tiles. Jon Marshall took inspiration from both English gardens and tactile terrazzo to design modular planters and garden accessories. Jody Hudson-Powell created tiles whose specks glow in the dark, while Sascha Lobe referenced Le Corbusier’s study of modules with tiles that form typographic patterns.
Astrid Stavro celebrated the heritage of the Mediterranean and sustainability with tiles that blend terrazzo and eco-friendly cork. Finally, Luke Powell designed a series of tiered tiles with colored layers and either recessed or raised layers. The Huguet and Pentagram collaboration made its debut during the 2022 edition of the London Design Festival. On view at 4 Cromwell Place, South Kensington, the exhibition runs from September 20 to September 25, 2022. Photography © Andrés Fraga.
