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Milan Design Week 2025: Mapei project partner of One Works and Whitby Wood at the INTERNI Cre-Action exhibition-event

Creativity and nature meet in a labyrinthine journey at the University of Milan
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April 7, 2025
Nature as an ever-changing environment where man is invited to confront himself through creativity and action. This is what Magma. Alle origini della creatività (Magma. The origin of creativity) represents, a project conceived and presented by the architecture studio One Works and Whitby Wood in collaboration with Mapei and Atlas Concorde. The installation is part of the INTERNI Cre-Action exhibition-event at the Cortile d’Onore (Courtyard of Honour) of the University of Milan, during Milan Design Week from 7th to 17th April.

Magma is inspired by plate tectonics which explains how the movements of the earth's crust have formed and continue to modify the surface of our planet over time. Mapei contributed to the creation of the work by supplying some of its products from the ceramics and coating lines. 

The installation evokes a fragmented and dynamic landscape, where visitors walk along narrow corridors paved with Atlas Concorde ceramic surfaces installed with Mapei's Ultrabond Eco PU 2K durable adhesive with very low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC); joints were grouted with Ultracolor Plus, the quick drying coloured grout with fully offset CO2 emissions in the entire life cycle. The vertical walls creating the path emerge from the ground like tectonic fissures, fully protected and covered by Mapei's Dursilac Satin, water-based enamel in a vibrant fire-red colour evoking incandescent magma and the Earth's primordial forces.  Visitors are invitedto live an immersive experience that encourages a reflection on change, fostering dialogue between nature, architecture and design imagination and exploring the profound bond between man and the environment.

Leonardo Cavalli, Founder and Managing Partner of One Works, comments on the project: “The installation invites a confrontation with change, just as in the creative process. Through dynamic forms and evocative materials, we explore the connection between man and nature, also promoting a circular approach”.

Simona Giorgetta, architect and member of the Mapei board of directors, comments: "We renew our participation in Milan Design Week, always a landmark for the world of architecture, design and planning. We support a project that not only explores creativity, but also responds to the challenges and transformations of our time. An opportunity to reflect on the importance of materials for responsible design capable of interpreting the challenges of tomorrow".