MAPPA STELLARE

by ALFONSO FEMIA / AF*DESIGN

Alfonso Femia's Mappa Stellare draws inspiration from the Nebra Sky Disk, the oldest known star map.  The Nebra Sky Disk is a metal plate dated to the bronze age which clearly depicts astronomical phenomena and symbols which once held deep religious meaning. The disk is thought to be the first depiction of the sky.

Time, measured and governed by the sky, is the flesh of Alfonso Femia's project. The stellar map evokes the relationship between man and time, where man exists in an infinitely narrow point between infinitely large pasts and futures. Mappa Stellare is 250cm in diameter, with a carved stone base, gold glazed ceramic, blackenedwood beams, and enamel. 

Construction: Marmi Faedo 

Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia, based in Milan, Genoa, and Paris, is considered one of Italy's foremost architecture studios and is active on the international scene. Alfonso Femia's projects (Frigoriferi Milanesi, Les Docks in Marseille, BNL headquarters in Roma Tiburtina, …) address the value of “context and time,” creating empathy between architectural forms and the surrounding space. The studio has been the recipient of multiple architecture awards, honorable mentions, and dedicated publications. At the 2018 Venice Biennale the Atelier presented “Mediterranei Invisibili,” reaffirming the importance of the Mediterranean sea in our collective imaginations. In 2019 the studio served as the Italian ambassador for the Italian embassy in Paris' Italian Design day, and curated the third edition of Pisa's Architecture Biennial (the theme was “Tempodacqua”). Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia also won the German Design Award and was elected for the ADI Design Index.

Marmi Faedo is specialized in the manufacture of various type of marble but the company’s flagship product is the Grolla marble, exclusive material of Marmi Faedo. This particular marble is extracted in the valley of Cornedo-Valdagno near Vicenza, in the only existing quarry in the world and it is property of Marmi Faedo. The pool from which we extract this marble, covers an authorized area of 150.000mq. Thanks to its technical and mechanical characteristics and to its aesthetic and architectural design Grolla is an ideal marble for interiors.
Moreover Grolla marble is particularly suitable for external use because it is particularly resistent to frost, atmospheric agents, salt water, pollution and it is appropriate for the facing of buildings
using the bonded or ventilated systems, as for external floor coverings.
It is in public buildings that Grolla can reveal all its fascinating qualities, giving life to environments that combine great architectural merit with a warm atmosphere, thanks to the pink and beige nuances in the stone. Some important buildings, both in terms of their prestigious nature and the quantity have been realized in Grolla marble all over the world (in Russia, in the United States and in Asian countries).