Lapicida, the stone specialist, is known for creating the extraordinary at Decorex and this year promises to be more exceptional yet. Housed in its own 300 square metre tent, Lapicida has built a submersive experience around the evolution of stone and stonemasonry; tracing it from the raw to the sublime, from pre-history to leading edge technology.
The experience begins in near-darkness as visitors are led through Lapicida’s remarkable Cabinet of Curiosities, viewing esoteric stone objects in dramatically lit vitrines and wall cabinets. Stepping into the curiously obsessive world of an 18th Century collector and natural scientist, there is much to inspire today’s designers.
A shock awaits though, as the exhibition suddenly transitions from its calm neo-classical twilight into a startlingly bright, white evocation of stone in the 21st Century, where multi-media, interactive, virtual and actual demonstrations take viewers behind the scenes at Lapicida.Visitors become part of the state-of-the-art processes and delivery systems, following stone from the quarry through bespoke design and fabrication and onto its final destination, transfigured by both craft and technology. Extraordinary materials from all over the world emerge as sophisticated surfaces and monumental 3-D sculptural objects: Man and machine, evolution and inspiration meet to tell the story of Lapicida’s unique understanding of stone.