The Space of Stone and Lotous

The new project designed by the Minax design studio in Shanghai combines elements of oriental culture with the high-quality Cotto d’Este Kerlite materials. An exhibition hall with a tea room: a space specifically constructed through a careful use of surfaces, lights and shadows that shape the architecture and create a spectacular setting.

The project was inspired by the term “zhai”, which refers to the studies of Chinese scholars and which, traditionally, evokes elements of meditation and introspection. The aim was to create a functional space enriched with traditional cultural symbols, such as stone and lotus flowers, in order to produce an immersive and unique experience through materials.

Thin Kerlite slabs by Cotto d’Este were used for the entire project: the ultimate expression of beauty and technology. It was possible to integrate different collections in the project, fully expressing the material, aesthetic and functional potential of this exclusive and valuable range.

Vanity, in the 2600×1200 mm format and Dark Brown colour, is the star of the entire exhibition hall: a collection known for enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the most elegant and minimal marbles. The same choice was also made for the columns in the centre of the space and for the table top in the tea room.

Inside the room, a pond with a lotus flower formed of slabs from the collection mentioned above, here in the Bianco Statuario version, and also from the Pietra D’Iseo collection in the 2600×1200 mm formats, casts small shadows in a dynamic interplay of shapes. The walls are covered with slabs from the Cement Project line in iridescent colours which, together with the lighting, generate movement in the space.

The open space’s three circular windows offer a glimpse of the wisteria that spreads throughout the garden, providing an evocative view of the tea room covered with the surfaces from the Exedra collection in the Travertino colour and chosen in the 3000×1000 mm size, whose vein patterns feature a three-dimensional effect that conveys extreme visual depth. For the square and rectangular step sections on the floor, the Forest line was chosen in the Cembro version and in the 3000×1000 mm format, which was also selected for the wall decoration, but in the Noce shade, which reproduces differences in roughness and relief typical of aged and hand-planed wood.