Connor Renwick: The Village Depicts Home Through Miniature Stone Sculptures

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

The Village Depicts Home Through Miniature Stone Sculptures

“Over the past year, we have all had to come to terms with the space we call home, living in it with an intensity like never before. We have looked around our home with fresh eyes, thinking how we would like to change it. And we realized that our home is a haven and as such, it has to reflect who we are and how we live. During this period, there was an incredible sense of global solidarity that united us around the world. We began to understand that we are all neighbors and life depends on each other,” explains Gabriele Salvatori, CEO of Salvatori.

The Village is a collection of miniature sculptures made from natural stone, each expressing a designer’s concept of home. It examines the idea that no matter where we’re from or our background, when it comes to the essentials in life we’re not so different. The world is a global village, reflected in the designers involved in the project. An ongoing project, The Village began rolling out in March and will continue through the rest of the year.

Patricia Urquiola, Kore

Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola made the first contribution that was released in March, a trio of stone homes named Kore. The first style, Alma, is made from Rosa Portogallo. The second, Petra, of Travertine. “I chose the name Kore for my village as a poetic nod to the Greek statues that depict young women on the cusp of adulthood. Petra and Alma, the two types of house in the village, evoke sentiments of domestic warmth and intimacy. I wanted to represent due worlds and two diverse, yet complementary aesthetics,” Urquiola shared.

Patricia Urquiola, Kore

Patricia Urquiola, Kore

Yabu Pushelberg, Assembly

Next up, in April, was New York-based design studio Yabu Pushelberg. Assembly is a trio of sculpture-like pieces giving a nod to the unpredictable, authentic beauty of life. Their fluidity was inspired by the ancient city of Petra, which was then carved from blocks of Crema d’Orcia limestone. The three towers are named Self, Collective and Convergence, representing the individual, the community and their intersection. Each piece easily stands alone, but when grouped they feel whole.

Yabu Pushelberg, Assembly

Rodolfo Dordoni, Novecento

Novecento, by Italian architect Rodolfo Dordoni, made its debut in May. “My contribution to The Village originates between playfulness and rationality, from the combination of architecture, sculpture and design. It is an homage to our history and story.” Two models represent a multi-shaped world, brought to life in red Rosso Collemandina marble and moody Pietra d’Avola limestone, while the second uses Bianco Carrara and Verde Alpi. Again, while these two pieces work wonderfully alone, next to one another seems to be where they belong.

Rodolfo Dordoni, Novecento

Rodolfo Dordoni, Novecento

Rodolfo Dordoni, Novecento

Kengo Kuma, MA House

The most recent addition to The Village was released this month, Japanese architect Kengo Kuma’s MA House. Deceptively small, measuring in at just 12 cm tall, it represents that no matter how imperfect home is, it’s still welcoming. “The shape was the least important aspect, and therefore we just took simple childish-like silhouettes that universally recall the image of a house,” Kuma said. The name comes from the Japanese “Kanji” sign 間, usually read as MA referring to the absence between existing elements as an existence in itself to form terms such as relationship, interval, pause. Represented here by carved out stone. MA House is available in Bianco Carrara and Light Travertine.