Spazio Antonioni, a new museum in Ferrara, celebrates the cinematic legacy of Michelangelo Antonioni. Mapei's ULTRATOP SYSTEM was used to create durable and elegant anthracite cementitious floors, enhancing the minimalist design of this space homaging modern cinema.
Spazio Antonioni opened in Ferrara (Central Italy) last June, a new museum offering cinema lovers a journey through the intellectual and creative universe of one of the fathers of modern cinema. Behind the project was the desire to bring to life a place of learning and discovery where visitors have the opportunity to explore testimonies of the work of Antonioni and to take a deep dive into the multitude of connections with the artists, directors and intellectuals he was most inspired by.
The spaces were designed by the Alvisi Kirimoto architecture studio: two floors of the Pavilion of Contemporary Art are home to a selection of the extraordinary wealth of objects and documents the director himself and his wife have entrusted to the City of Ferrara. Consisting of more than 47,000 items, visitors are able to explore his approach to cinema and his literary and artistic activities and work as a critic. The exhibition itinerary follows a chronological path and goes through the various seasons of Antonioni’s cinematic activities throughout the second half of the 20th century, from his debut into the world of Neorealism to Anglo-American films and his “return home” to restore the bond with his roots.
The anthracite cementitious floors were laid with ULTRATOP SYSTEM.
The anthracite cementitious floors
The highly materic finishes chosen for the spaces, such as a cementitious system for the floors and pumice for the stairs, combine well with the attention paid to the fine details, enhancing even technical features such as metal hinges and support feet deliberately left exposed.The floors in the museum (around 600 m2) were created using ULTRATOP SYSTEM, a self-levelling cementitious system with which it is possible to obtain floorings with high resistance to wear and considerable aesthetic impact. The system is suitable for residential, commercial and industrial settings.
The surfaces were mechanically prepared and then treated with PRIMER SN fillerized with 20% by weight of QUARTZ 0.5 quartz sand, followed by a full broadcast of QUARTZ 1.2 sand. Once hardened, the surfaces were vacuumed to remove any excess sand and the flooring was created by applying ULTRATOP, self-levelling mortar made from special, ultra-rapid-hardening, hydraulic binders. The ULTRATOP mortar was chosen in its anthracite colour shade and laid in its “natural effect”.
As a protective finish, a formulate from the MAPEFLOOR FINISH range was applied (after priming the surface with ULTRATOP BASE COAT) and, after it had hardened, MAPELUX LUCIDA, a cross-linked, high-strength shiny metallic wax was used to make cleaning and maintenance operations easier.
Spazio Antonioni, Ferrara (Italy)
Period of construction: 2023-2024
Period of the Mapei intervention: 2024
Owner: Ferrara City Council
Intervention by Mapei: supplying products for laying cementitious floors
Design: Alvisi Kirimoto
Main contractor: Unyon Consorzio stabile Scarl
Flooring contractor: Resin Sol
Mapei coordinator: Andrea Degli Esposti, Mapei SpA (Italy)
