Materioteca MetroQuality
Milano
2022
Project: Michela M. Oliva
Project Development: R6003 Studio, Eleonora Bindellini, Francesca Gassani, Marta Palazzo
The Materioteca space, a project conceived by the Milanese architect Michela Oliva founder of R6003 Studio, is located in the exclusive Via Solferino, in the heart of Brera, within an elegant historic building, at the MetroQuality Milano showroom.
A tangible library of materials that collects more than 2,000 physical samples, it takes up about 150 square meters of the over 400 that complete the showroom.
A space where, in a single spot, one can find all the materials that make up the “skin” of a project. A cozy and intimate location, evocative in tone and light, dedicated to designers as an extension of their studio space, where they can choose the materials present in their projects with the fundamental experiential component of being able to touch the physical samples by hand.
The two large rooms into which the space is divided are joined together by a “library”, which occupies the length of the longest side of the rectangle. A wall of almost twenty linear meters welcomes the gaze of those who enter with a dense pattern of materials, shapes and colored finishes: a large material fabric that makes the visitor perceive the vastness of the collection.
Amidst the absolute black of the walls the rigorous and clean lines of the light-colored birch cut-out furniture emerge (on which hundreds of samples are placed), which enhance the depth of the space, a guide for the visitor’s gaze who is helped to perceive the continuity of the rooms.
On the opposite side, the exhibition captures the attention of the beholder with a different language. In the first room, the protagonists are the large ceramic slabs, partly visible in real life and partly on video in real size. In the second room, however, the wall is dedicated to the display of “soft” materials.
In the lower part, a sequence of modules that alternate in a chessboard of solids and voids defines a “soft” world in which there is an exhibition of textile finishes and their possible processes.
At eye level, however, the exhibition transforms and comes to life in a gallery of seven mood boards, which provide a possible interpretation of the use of materials.
Such as in a boutique, the architecture and furnishings are not the end but the means at service of the product. Lighting played a key role in the design as well. One of the great challenges and peculiarities of the project was in fact the development of the theme of light which, even in an environment without natural light, allows you to observe the different materials while respecting the real colours, shades and finishes.