Marmomac 2018 - Wellness & hospitality: dialogue between water and stone

11.04.2018

Veronafiere - 26-29 September 2018 

April 2018 - Water will be the element animating The Italian Stone Theatre, the hall dedicated to excellence in the Italian natural stone field scheduled once again in Verona at Marmomac 2018, the international natural stone exhibition 26-29 September 2018. 

The most important trade fair in this sector - which last year set yet another attendance record with 1,650 exhibitors (64% international from 56 foreign countries) and 68 thousand operators from 147 countries - presents this new exhibition concept in Hall 1 curated by designer Raffello Galiotto and architect Vincenzo Pavan. 

The theme for the 2018 edition is Wellness & Hospitality, whereby natural stone materials are involved in the creation of furnishings, products, accessories and architectural elements for hospitality and well-being scenarios. The main theme characterising the set-up is water whereby its fluid nature prompts a wealth of aesthetic-perceptive aspects in dialogue with the solidity of natural stone. 

The Italian Stone Theatre will host five exhibitions (two for product design, one with an architectural focus, one with an artistic identity and the Ristorante d'Autore (the by-now not to be missed gourmet event during the show), the Forum Area and the bar corner. 

These are the scheduled exhibitions:

Liquid, solid, stone: the exhibition seeks to promote new ideas for well-being environments through the creativity of highly talented designers teamed up with companies to give life to prototypes for furniture and accessories for bathrooms, saunas, thermal baths and spas.

Architecture for water: companies will collaborate with prestigious architects to develop projects
sharing the theme of cladding of facades and reflective architectural elements in the large liquid spaces of Hall 1.

Brand+Stone: this exhibition involves high-end brands in the world of furniture interested in developing concepts
and prototypes for inclusion in their collections thanks to collaboration with companies handling materials, processing and machinery to implement works of design and/or interior design.

Art-Ways: the spaces dedicated to water in the hall will also be enhanced by art itineraries involving works by international artists, with experience in numerical processing of natural stone in collaboration with machinery manufacturers.

Ristorante d’Autore: in adopting the "pavilion" concept, the project implemented by ADI Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige Delegation highlights water as a natural element to celebrate all its different aspects - shape, colour, sound and movement - by interpreting it in a way that helps create the objects furnishing the restaurant and welcome guests with the movement and sensations of a flowing stream. 

As a prestige stage-setting in terms of centrality and visibility, The Italian Stone Theatre is dedicated to Italian exhibitors keen to try their hands at creating theme-based works in collaboration with international architects and designers such as Paolo Ulian, Ludovica Roberto Palomba, Craig Copeland, Setsu & Shinobu Ito, Massimo Iosa Ghini, Marco Piva, Kengo Kuma, Patricia Urquiola and Benedetta Tagliabue. 

Two sectors are involved: stone processing companies and companies producing machinery and technology - lined up in a single exhibition occasion. All companies are matched with designers and architects who will stimulate relational opportunities and the ability to transform specially designed projects into artefacts and prototypes. 

The 2018 edition of Marmomac is once again being developed with the contribution of the Ministry for Economic Development and in collaboration with ICE Trade Agency and ConfindustriaMarmomacchine in the context of Special Made in Italy Promotion Plan that provides finance dedicated to activities focusing on incoming operators from abroad (350 last years from 58 countries) as well as the fourth edition of the International Stone Summit, the world conference dedicated to natural stone attended by the main international marble associations. 

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Marmomac is the most important international event dedicated to marble, granite, technologies, design and training. Now in its 53rd edition, it is scheduled in Verona 26-29 September 2018. As a platform for the global promotion of business and culture related to natural stone, Marmomac has always been an innovative workshop presenting culture, trends and innovations to visitors through exhibitions, projects and experiments developed by companies in collaboration with internationally renowned architects and designers. Marmomac is also synonymous with training thanks to its Lectio Magistralis programme, conventions and seminars organized in the Exhibition Centre, in addition to initiatives focusing on incoming international operators to promote research and academic-professional knowledge of stone architecture. The breadth and scope of the trade sector represented, from products through to technologies and design, and the international status of the event – that goes far beyond the annual show as such thanks to promotional activities in major target countries to highlight a strategic field of Made in Italy even for other industrial sectors - together with university training, are the reasons why Marmomac has become the landmark international event for the entire natural stone industry.