CRASH: the Fuorisalone of marble Margraf with Hannes Peer Architecture

On the occasion of its debut at Milan Design Week, Margraf, an Italian leader in the marble industry, presents CRASH, an installation designed by Hannes Peer Architecture at Spazio BIG Santa Marta, located in the historic 5VIE district. This ambitious project represents the meeting point between the Milanese studio, led by architect Hannes Peer, known for its conceptual and multidisciplinary approach blending architecture, design, and theoretical research, and Margraf, a company with over a century of experience in marble processing through innovation and craftsmanship. The result is a work that pushes the boundaries between material and meaning.

CRASH redefines the perception of marble—traditionally seen as a symbol of stability and perfection—by presenting it as an instrument of rupture and revelation, far from its conventional decorative role. The installation explores collision as both a conceptual and physical force, reshaping objects and leaving visible traces of a profound interaction. The marble, bending and detaching from the wall, challenges its inherent stoic solidity, interrupting the architecture like a deliberate mistake. These "anomalies," though unnatural, appear organic, transforming the marble into an autonomous, living entity that breaks free from rigid historical expectations. It defies such constraints, bending and contorting to escape its traditional function, as if awakening from a long period of submission.

The project draws inspiration from the works of artists such as Michelangelo, Luciano Fabro, and Isamu Noguchi, who view fracture as an opportunity for reinvention and revelation. From Michelangelo’s unfinished works to Fabro’s challenge to the solidity of stone to express emotion, to Noguchi’s playful deconstruction of traditional sculpture, CRASH continues this legacy of creative disruption.

Starting at the entrance, the visitor is welcomed into a space reminiscent of a quarry, where marble twists into a cavernous formation before evolving through the space. It no longer accepts its fate as a "vertical slab," but instead slides down to the ground under the weight of its own mass or suddenly disrupts its natural logic. This culminates in the installation’s centrepiece, which lends its name to the project: a monumental marble slab defies its own nature, bending and crumbling in a frozen moment, as if the material were rewriting the laws of its existence. The tension between marble’s solidity and unpredictability invites the viewer to find beauty in imperfection and transformation. In CRASH, every mistake and unexpected event is not a flaw, but a vital part of the creative process, celebrating fragility and the richness of imperfection. MARGRAF Spa – Via Marmi, 3 – 36072 – Chiampo (VI) – Italy – tel. +39 0444 475900 – [email protected] – www.margraf.it

CRASH thus serves as a reflection on the dynamism and unpredictability of the creative process, where tradition and innovation collide, resulting in a work that transcends expectations. It invites us to see marble not as a static material, but as a living substance in constant evolution. In its fractures, dents, and accidents, the project underscores that creation is rarely linear, but arises from a series of collisions, impacts, and unforeseen outcomes. The result is a space where destruction and transformation converge, where every mark bears the memory of its creation, and where marble—a material that has endured for millennia—becomes a metaphor for the fleeting and fragile beauty of existence.