Design And Architecture

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Wi t h a n e x p a n d i n g marketplace boasting more than 70 countries and a long list of international awards to its name, Lapitec is an interesting case study in the design world.

Lapitec was created in Veneto, Italy, in 1989 from an entrepreneurial idea of Marcello Toncelli, and after more than 20 years of scientific research, tests and certifications, a revolutionary product was born which is 100% Made in Italy and offers unique performance qualities.

The success of the product is based on a combination of features that respond perfectly to market trends, as well as an obvious focus on sustainability, both in the raw materials used and the stages of the production process.

Lapitec is a mixture of 100% natural minerals, which when baked at high temperatures produce “full body” slabs: the exterior and interior are identical, without enamel or digital printing on the surface. This feature allows Lapitec to be machined across its full thickness while ensuring consistent appearance and performance as well as avoiding the use of resins, inks, and other petroleum derivatives.

With an innovative technology supported by 25 patents, Lapitec offers design versatility, and the guarantee of an excellent aesthetic result combined with optimum technical performance.

Lapitec slabs, 3365 mm in length, are available in 3 collections, 17 colours and 7 different surface textures, and can also be customised. They are used not only as an indoor and outdoor surface covering, but also for rooftops, yachts, swimming pools and product design, from tables to consoles and from bathrooms to kitchens, where the total absence of porosity of the surface makes Lapitec ideal in terms of hygiene and ease of maintenance.

Lapitec is a valuable material that is suitable to numerous uses. In recent years Lapitec slabs have been used for public buildings, residential

Lapitec, A Unique Material For Design And Architecture Lapitec is a material of the future - elegant, sustainable and highly performance oriented.

Lapitec also stands the test of time and is not susceptible to atmospheric and domestic agents. Cleaning does not reveal any degeneration. The original appearance is maintained

complexes, infrastructure, places of worship and marine applications, but also for the creation – in collaboration with other design brands – of kitchens, outdoor furniture, tables and next generation technologies.

Thirty years on from the invention of Lapitec, the company – now run by the third generation under the leadership of Marcello Toncelli’s grandson of the same name – is expanding its product range with ever more innovative solutions in the field of kitchens and living spaces. This is also through the technological partnership with the parent company Breton, a world leader in the production of plants for machining stone materials and natural agglomerates, which guarantees the reliability of the production chain. Contact web: www.lapitec.com

Lapitec is made from a mixture of natural minerals which is first melted at 1,580°C, and then subjected to a patented vacuum vibro-compression technology

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As architects and educators since the 1970s, Farrell and McNamara create spaces that are at once respectful and new, honoring history while demonstrating a mastery of the urban environment and craft of construction Balancing strength and delicacy, and upholding a reverence of site- specific contexts, their academic, civic and cultural institutions, as well as housing developments, result in modern and impactful works that never repeat or imitate, but are decidedly of their own architectural voice.

“Architecture could be described as one of the most complex and important cultural activities on the planet,” remarks Farrell “To be an architect is an enormous privilege To win this prize is a wonderful endorsement of our belief in architecture Thank you for this great honor. ”

“Within the ethos of a practice

Grafton Architects Win Architecture’s Highest Honor Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara of Dublin, Ireland, have been selected as the 2020 Pritzker Prize Laureates.

Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara

Universita Luigi Bocconi, 2008, Milan, Italy

Photo courtesy: Ros Kavanagh

such as ours, we have so often struggled to find space for the implementation of such values as humanism, craft, generosity, and cultural connection with each place and context within which we work It is therefore extremely gratifying that this recognition is bestowed upon us and our practice and upon the body of work we have managed to produce over a long number of years,” says McNamara “It is also a wonderful recognition of the ambition and vision of the clients who commissioned us and enabled us to bring our buildings to fruition.”

“For their integrity in their approach to both their buildings, as well as the way they conduct their practice, their belief in collaboration, their generosity towards their colleagues, especially as evidenced in such events as the 2018 Venice Biennale, their unceasing commitment to excellence in architecture, their responsible attitude toward the environment, their ability to be cosmopolitan

Photo courtesy: Grafton Architects

Université Toulouse 1 Capitole School of Economics, 2019, Toulouse, France

Rendering courtesy: Grafton Architects

McNamara states, “Architecture is a framework for human life It anchors us and connects us to the world in a way which possibly no other space-making discipline can ” Farrell continues, “At the core of our practice is a real belief that architecture matters It is a cultural spatial phenomenon that people invent ”

The pair established Grafton Architects in 1978 in Dublin, where they continue to practice and reside In just over forty years, they have completed nearly as many projects, located in Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Peru.

Farrell and McNamara are the 47 th and 48 th Laureates of the Pritzker Prize, and the first two recipients from Ireland. The Pritzker Architecture Prize was founded in 1979 by the late Jay A Pritzker and his wife, Cindy Its purpose is to honor annually a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture. Contact Eunice Kim Director of Communications The Pritzker Architecture Prize Tel: +1 240 401 5649 email: eunicekim@pritzkerprize com

London School of Economics and Political Science, Under Construction, London, United Kingdom

while embracing the uniqueness of each place in which they work, for all these reasons and more, Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara are awarded the 2020 Pritzker Architecture Prize,” states the 2020 Jury Citation.

“The collaboration between Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara represents a veritable interconnectedness between equal counterparts,” states Pritzker “They demonstrate incredible strength in their architecture, show deep relation to the local situation in all regards, establish different responses to each commission while maintaining the honesty of their work, and exceed the requirements of the field through responsibility and community ”

Urban Institute of Ireland, 2002, Dublin, Ireland Universita Luigi Bocconi, 2008, Milan, Italy