With a completely renewed graphic design and a host of fresh contents, the English version of Cer Magazine is now available to the public and can be freely downloaded to iPad (Cer Mag app). In this issue, Cer Magazine interviews architect Nikos Ktenàs, outlines trends in sanitaryware and ceramic tiles for the coming spring/summer season, talks to distributors, and discusses the latest projects featuring the use of Italian ceramic tiles.
The Italian ceramic industry’s presence at Coverings with a new Ceramics of Italy institutional stand is an important opportunity to showcase new trends and technologies. It also serves as a platform for strategic agreements in the building sector and provides an important opportunity to approach the dynamic American market, a key area for the Italian ceramic industry.
In this issue, Cer Magazine also explores distribution trends in an interview with Abdulsalam Albahussain, owner of Dubai-based company Artecasa. A major distributor of ceramic tiles, sanitaryware and bathroom furnishings in the United Arab Emirates, the firm specialises in materials that combine design with high quality and maintains a strong focus on Italian products.
An analysis of the world building market, focusing in particular on south and southeast Asia, reveals that major investments are expected in residential building in 2012-2013 in North Africa (+7.3%) and in the Gulf region (+5.8%).
And in an exclusive interview with Cer Magazine, Greek architect Nikos Ktenàs describes how his work is inspired by the values of matter, light and a sense of place and how traditional forms can be modernised through minimalist cues.
The published projects differ in terms of building type, location and technical and aesthetic characteristics but share their use of Italian ceramics. They range from the innovations at the McLaren Production Centre in the UK to the striking interiors of the new cultural centre in Fiorano Modenese; from the lively interiors of a shopping centre in the heart of Russia to a unique blend of history and modernity in the Porte de Versailles metro station in Paris; from the perfect functionality of a car showroom in Germany to the exclusive and sophisticated interiors of Caffè Propaganda in Rome; from the distinctive design of a spa in the province of Avellino in Italy to the remodelling of an apartment in the centre of Warsaw; from the modern sophistication of the Westa headquarters in Innsbruck to the urban style of a Milan fast food eatery; and from the brightly-coloured areas of a nursery school in the Italian province of Padua to the rustic, natural aesthetics of a hotel in the Austrian Tyrol.
The latest developments in the field of Italian ceramic are explored in Cer Magazine’s journey through the spring/summer 2012 trends, in which natural colours, elegant moods and textural surfaces create a surprising patchwork of styles for the home.
An article devoted to the 30th Cersaie, the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tiles and Bathroom Furnishings to be held in Bologna from 25 to 29 September this year, discusses the theme of the 2012 show, that of “Technology and mankind”, where technology represents the ability of human beings to transform matter. Today’s growing environmental awareness and an ever increasing realisation that the world’s transformation by technology must maintain a focus on human beings is prompting fresh debate about today’s technological world and the value of original, untransformed matter. Cersaie’s cultural programme will explore this theme in connection with the two specific fields of architecture and ceramics.
These are just some of the contents of issue 29 of Cer Magazine, which can also be read in English on iPad. Go to the iPad App Store, News category, Architecture and Design section, where Cer Magazine is free to download amongst the available apps.
Sassuolo, 13 April 2012
For further information:
Andrea Serri
Cersaie Press Office
Tel. +39 0536 818111 – Fax +39 0536 806510
Mobile +39 348 1504905
e-Mail: pressoffice@cersaie.it
www.cersaie.it