Collection by Jordan Kushins
Cersaie 2010
Cersaie is the biggest trade show of the year for ceramic tiles, and each September Bologna becomes a hub for showing the latest innovations featuring the multi-faceted material. From roofing to flooring, interior walls to exterior siding, Italians brought their a-game to the Fiere, and for those of you who have never been to a trade show here’s a peek at what we saw.
Wow. It’s tough to articulate how lovely Dechirer, from Patricia Urquiola, was in person (she worked for two years on the project to get it just right). The texture on the relief elements made it look soft, but it was absolutely solid to the touch, and the geometric web-like pattern was stunning on the large-scale wall installation.
Cersaie’s keynote speaker was SOM architect David Childs, whose firm was chosen to head-up the plans for reconstruction of the World Trade Center. In this sketch, he showed how the design for the new Freedom Tower and 9/11 memorial would bring the downtown grid back to the lot previously occupied by the World Trade Center, allowing Grenwich Street to run through the space again while incorporating accessible and engaging public areas.
Venerable Italian designer Enzo Mari addressed a group of students on stage and a packed house in the auditorium. He encouraged all to stay inquisitive, advocating that no one should be afraid to ask simple questions and learning is a never ending cycle between hatching your theories, testing those theories, refining them, then practicing them again. “School will actually finish the day you die,” he said.