A work tool for the designer
Now in its sixth edition, Creative Book is a cultural initiative of Casalgrande Padana which underlines the company special interest in matters related to architecture, design and technological research. Primarily intended for designers, this publication in its last three editions has been produced in collaboration with the international architectural magazine Casabella. This decision highlights once again the desire of Casalgrande Padana to further consolidate the special collaborative relationship, which has always linked it to the world of design. Conceived as a working tool, the book is intended to provide some additional hints for consideration on the expressive possibilities as well as the potential applications of the Granitogres, Marmogres, Pietre Native and Padana Piscine ceramic materials, offering a series of concrete proposals with information, examples, solutions, suggestions, impressions and ambiences. It is a publication which is easy to consult, and which can be browsed whenever needed.
Review of the publication
Creative Book is organised into three sections dedicated to works, compositional proposals and materials. The first part presents all the projects that participated in the last edition of the international architectural competition, Grand Prix Casalgrande Padana. The review has been organised according to the principal types of interventions: shopping centers and executive offices; public and service buildings, industrial buildings; façade coverings and external pavements; and residential buildings; swimming pools. Each work is illustrated with a series of pictures accompanied by a technical sheet about the project. The award winning designs and the most interesting ones are furthermore accompanied by drawings, installation layouts and details of the porcelain stoneware products used.
The composition proposals
The central section of the book, dedicated to compositional design, analyses the application possibilities of ceramics for flooring, developing a series of proposals and suggestions which particularly take into account the most recent developments, deriving from the availability of a wide range of formats and colours, which can be used in different combinations. In fact, the possibility of defining basic modules composed of various elements, makes it possible to address any compositional theme in a completely new way, from laying designs for all environments to central decorations, from borders to markings for pathways and so forth.
The materials, the formats, the surfaces and the colours
The last part is dedicated to materials. The performance characteristics and the aesthetic properties of Granitogres, Pietre Native and Padana Piscine are highlighted by means of technical specifications for the products together with large thematic tables, in depth details and a helpful colour chart. On these pages, the format, the surface and the colours provide a special key for interpreting the various categories of information which can be combined in various ways, enabling selective or personalised views of the data. Creative Book thus intends to indicate some possible directions for expressive and compositional research into the use of ceramic materials in architecture, offering the designer a series of useful notes for his work.