Materia Viva is the surprising new lime coating enriched with fragments of nature, which Novacolor presented during Milan Design Week 2024.
This new line of materic intonachines presents an innovative and sustainable approach aimed at rediscovering the natural materials of the Italian and Mediterranean architectural heritage.
Lime and natural components meet and give life to a delicate and powerful tool full of colours, sensations and sounds. Materia Viva is the result of Novacolor’s study of trends in lime coatings with a strong decorative connotation and the inspiration given by Mediterranean Architecture based on the use of local materials that blend harmoniously with the natural environment.
The line is developed in four textures representing different facets of nature: the unique powder base, mixed with the aggregates Cocciopesto, Shell, Pumice and Cork, creates effects that evoke the richness of Mediterranean architecture.
Materia Viva Cocciopesto is a modern interpretation of the classic Cocciopesto plaster, characteristic of historic buildings and architecture in several Italian cities. A material that has the sound of the Mediterranean and is renewed, handed down, bringing ever new nuances to light.
Materia Viva Conchiglia instead incorporates a mixture of crushed and selected shells in different grain sizes. The shell fragments vibrate on the surfaces in a continuous dance with light and its reflections, creating a landscape that tells of all the richness of the sea.
Materia Viva Pumice, with its volcanic origin, recalls the mortars and finishes of our architectural heritage. The result is a product with a mineral surface enriched and decorated with coloured fragments of polished stone that create shadows and contrasts according to an intense rhythm.
Materia Viva Sughero is an expanded and toasted natural cork granulate with a compact and soft-touch appearance, reminiscent of natural fibre fabrics.
The accompanying images depict the Timeless Room, the experiential furnishing format conceived by Beebest srl architects Barbara Sansonetti and Andrea Botta, dedicated to the mental and physical well-being of the person, which was presented during Milan Design Week 2024 inside the Novacolor Flagship Store in the Brera District. The true protagonist of the installation is nature, which appeals to all the senses. Sight, touch, hearing and smell were stimulated to make visitors perceive the possibility of recreating, within their own private space (and beyond), environments that evoked the memory and experience of contact with nature. The objective was to enhance a product that recreates inside homes, but also hotels and offices, a corner dedicated to meditation, reading, contact with oneself, to stop time and recharge energy surrounded by nature.
To this end, furnishings by Riva 1920 and Suber were selected, accompanied by natural installations of plants and flowers on the ceiling by White Pepper Studio, acoustic diffusers that reproduced the sounds of the four natural elements connected to Materia Viva, and olfactory diffusers that completed the immersive experience.
The space was set up by Master Decorator and Novacolor Ambassador, Davide Palma, who, in addition to enhancing the Timeless Room experience, also applied Wall2Floor Waterproof, the resin floor covering that took over the decoration of the reception spaces, providing an outstanding aesthetic and functional result.
Ph.: Beppe Brancato
Styling: Beebest.
