Architects:AB+AC Architects

Area:50 m²

Year:2022

Photographs:Nicola Gnesi

Lead Architects:Arianna Bavuso, Andre Chedid

Project Team: Allegra Zanirato, Isabella Ieraci

Client: Fantini Mosaici

City: Milão

Country: Italy

During the 61st Edition of the Fuori Saloni Fantini Mosaici - one of Italy’s leading companies specializing in luxury handcrafted surfaces - invites Lisbon-based studio AB+AC Architects founded by Arianna Bavuso and Andre Chedid, to design a temporary art installation where the firm will soon open its first showroom in Milan, at Foro Bonaparte 68.

Back to the Future - the title of the installation – is a hypnotic visual and tactile experience that shows how even the most ancient of techniques can be brought into the future. Timeless and limitless, Fantini Mosaici takes craftsmanship to the next level. The venue is composed of two sequential rooms that fragment the experience into different moments. First is the reception area, a dark space where the visitor’s eyes can adjust in preparation for an immersive installation that is hidden behind sensual curtains.

This initial space is dedicated to reading, learning, and reflecting upon Fantini Mosaici’s extensive history in the art of mosaic, terrazzo, pebblestone, and marble stonework while standing on a hand-drawn paving of organic waves cut from Black Portoro and Light Orobico.

Once through the curtains, the installation is revealed. A kaleidoscopic room where AB+AC Architects create the illusion of a boundless universe of rough and precious stones constituting a custom three-dimensional floor of floating pyramids framed by an endless grid of terrazzo portals. Here, the visitor can transcend the physical limitations of the space and dive into a futuristic landscape of infinite possibilities.

For over 123 years, Fantini Mosaici has been the epitome of ‘Made in Italy,’ creating exquisite customized surfaces for the world’s most prestigious projects, including luxury hotels, designer boutiques, residences, places of worship, and government institutions. Although this millennial handcraft belongs to a collective memory of history and tradition, Back To The Future intends to challenge this relationship through an immersive architecture of opportunities, where low tech meets high tech.