Marble has throughout the ages been considered a noble, fascinating, living material, rich in the resources and extraordinary wonders.
All of the most important western civilization have used marble, even if its fortunes have waxed and waned over the ages. Its destiny, even in morden times, has not always flourished. Today’s architectural culture has, however, made it a part of many new meanings and has redeemed it with the authenticity of its shape. At the same time, only a few enlightened architects have, with the help of expert designers interested in research, rediscovered marble in terms of producing objects, so that today there are conspicuous number of top designer models.
Maurizio Casigliani has always believed in the validity of undertaking undoubtedly inviting challenges which require a certain degree of preliminary ideological clarification in order to be implemented correctly, and a subsequent definition of intentions, as well as rigorous production methods. Meeting Lella and Massimo Vignelli towards the end of the 70’s allowed him to open a discourse which continues today.
The Metafora 1 table was born. This anticipated and featured some of the recurring themes which were to characterize Casigliani products. The Vignellis had made a crucial choice: that of working on the primary shape, using marble to construct the support of the table in the form of a cube, a sphere, a cylinder and a pyramid. The design concept, as can be seen, is extremely simple. It can, to some extent, be considered minimalist: these forms were certainly not invented by the two designers. The design was, however, totally new, since the idea was based on a series of factors and affects deriving from the idea itself.
The use of these forms, which are our own ancestral heritage, has guaranteed widespread success and provided a condition (one which Casigliani retains and one cannot forgot) of a certain degree of immunity from the dangers of an easy obsolescence. If it is then true that marble is a lasting material par excellence, it seems fiar to enhance this characteristic with solutions which are not too precarious in terms of taste, and appearance. One must follow the times, but there are many ways of doing this. Casigliani way has, therefore, been a conscious choice based on a precise and stringent logic. The four solids which support the table would have neither sense nor reason if the top were not transparent. The thickly cut crystal is in itself a noble and precious material and meets its purpose magnificently. The visible solids are like the pieces of a clever and bizzarre game, depite the Euclidean ancestry.
They can be produced with a single type of marble or with different types of marble, or with different type combined in various ways.
The Metafora 1 was, however, only the symbolic founder of the line. Today, more than ten years later, its age certainly does not show, just as Casigliani had intended. Things have moved on very considerably, but with coherence and without contradiction. Taking as a whole, that is, considering the overall physiognomy, or the spirit which nourishes it, over and above the styling peculiarity of many models, Casigliani products demonstrate that attention to marble is a truly decisive, constant factor. All the designers, from the Vignelli to Stoppino, from Lazzotti to Tesconi, have contributed, to clarify yet another point of the Casigliani phylosophy which becomes a stable theme of the group of artist. The type of marble used is once again considered, bacause each and every type of marble can be enhanced by special treatment, by working the surfaces to obtain different textures, matter, semi-polished, mirror finishes.
Casigliani’s past is by now a tradition well recognized in the history of forms which have been created for marble in the past twenty years as a visible expression of our most authentic culture. This past, made not only of actual results, but also of experiences developed and grown on the field, is now a stepping stone towards a future open to new researches and typologies.
Remaining rigorously close to the fundamentals of which we have spoken above, Casigliani is now incrementing his activities with the support of new projectual and creative energies.
New ideas and proposal are examined; new experimental tests are carried out and compared; the propriety of solutions is weighted on the formal and technological lavels; the physical and philosophical aspect of images are deeply examined.
A choral work of monds and hans that wants to guarantee the correct attitude of the final choices, which can only be attained by the contribution of competence and discipline attuned both ideally and operatively in the production process.