Promotion: 2026’s Milan design week saw architecture studio Snøhetta create a tile-clad structure punctuated with voids to highlight recycled washbasins and tile products by Turkish brand VitrA.
The installation formed part of a wider multi-venue exhibition and event at Milan’s FuoriSalone organised by Interni magazine, named Interni Materiae.
Materiae was both the name and theme of this year’s iteration, borrowing the Latin term meaning material, matter or substance.
Snøhetta took the qualities of water, light, scent and sound, manifesting this year’s brief into a tangible space.
The resulting structure aimed to demonstrate VitrA‘s brand values while seamlessly displaying a curated selection of items from its catalogue.
“Ceramic is a beginning,” said VitrA. “Clay shaped by heat becomes durable, hygienic and water-resistant, the elemental foundation of our sanitaryware and tiles.”
“The space embodies VitrA’s spirit of innovation and experimentation, reflecting the advances that allow ceramic to be recycled within the production process,” the brand continued.
“It traces a quiet arc from earth to rebirth.”
The space’s exterior was clad with VitrA’s 100 per cent recycled tiles, punctuated by a wedge of negative space in one corner, lined with orange tiles.
Circular voids encircled by blue edges punctuated the walls, and a large oculus in the ceiling illuminated the interior with natural sunlight.
Immediately below the oculus was a shallow pool, on top of which a series of VitrA’s recycled ceramic washbasins were displayed.
“The pool’s reflective surface amplifies the ceramic forms around it, inviting visitors to reconsider their material qualities and to sense the depth of VitrA’s technological and aesthetic innovation,” said the brand.
In addition to the meditative atmosphere of Snøhetta’s design, the space also aimed to reinforce VitrA’s commitment to responsible production, careful employment of natural resources and dedication to circular design.
This was put front and centre through the choice of products selected for integration into the exhibition – its existing recycled washbasins on the inside and its new line of recycled tiles on the outside.
“Through this interplay of elements, the installation reveals material not as a fixed substance, but as a living process – shaped, transformed, and continually reimagined,” said VitrA.
“In our contribution to Materiae, material stewardship becomes a source of creativity rather than constraint, opening new pathways for innovation.”
To find out more about VitrA, visit the brand’s website.
Partnership content
This article was written by Dezeen for VitrA as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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