Supernatural:
Architecture and Marble:
a Well-functioning Match

On October 4 and 5, Franchi Umberto Marmi, in media partnership with IQD magazine, organized an important event, welcoming to its headquarters a large group of architects from some of the top Italian Studios. FUM proposed them a close encounter with Carrara marble and with everything related to a material that is experiencing a new golden age, not only from a commercial point of view, but also in terms of appreciation by designers, always looking for new stimuli and innovative input to be developed.

They were two intense days that involved numerous people internal and external to FUM for the success of the event, aiming at welcoming guests in an engaging and stimulating way at the same time.

The architects Stefano Pujatti of Elastico S.p.A, Domenico Faraco of Peluffo & Partners, Marco Ciarlo of Ciarlo Associati, Simone di Sfriso of TAM Associati, Francesca Moroni and Matteo Arietti of Park Associati, Giulio Rigoni of BIG, Emanuele Montybelier of Arte Sella, Gianni Fiore of Studio Lissoni, Lucia Giusta and Alessia Gregorio of Marco Costanzi Architects accepted FUM’s invitation.

Let’s start with the story: despite the weather was not so good in the days preceding the event, on October 4 it was good and allowed us to start the day according to the scheduled program.

The invited architects, who arrived on time at the appointment, were welcomed in the meeting room by Roberta Busnelli, director of the magazine IQD, who introduced Alberto and Bernarda Franchi to the designers, officially launching the activities of the day. Alessandro Cecchini, director of Yac, followed them, introducing the new educational path of the 2025 Master in Architecture organized for the second time in collaboration with FUM.

At the end of the opening greetings, Claudia Chiappino, head for Sustainability of FUM, proceeded with a brief overview of the sustainability-related themes, offering the opportunity to the architects to discuss on these topics.

Immediately after, a visit to the showrooms was carried out, especially in Galleria Umberto and Big One, led by Davide Biselli of Interninow, FUM representative for the various activities of the FUM Academy, for the training and promotion of marble culture at the design and interior design studios. Here Davide showed the variety of FUM prestigious materials, as always arousing the curiosity and rising questions of all those present.

The group then moved to the Recovery Stone where Andrea Franchi told to the architects the history of manufacturing and how the recovery of these large spaces was achieved. Today these spaces host innovative, robotized systems with a view to Industry 4.0, including, among other, the automated handling of the processed slabs.

After the visit to Recovery Stone, it was time to attend the event organized in the beautiful quarry in the Crestola gallery where the guests, including architects, press officers and FUM guests, were able to experience a unique moment dominated by the beauty of marble in a suggestive and scenographic space. All the setup was curated by Danaeproject: lights and music were the corollary of an evening that will remain etched in the memory of all the guests who had the opportunity to appreciate the quarry in the gallery, a place unknown to most, where marble expresses itself in all its power and natural beauty. We networked, talked about beauty, sustainability, future projects, we even danced and then came back to the hotel tired, with our eyes full of all the things we saw, but already ready for the trip to the quarry the next day.

Early on October 5, the architects and journalists left the Hotel Michelangelo for a tour to the quarries, visiting the 3 main marble basins that are part of FUM’s extraction activities. They were accompanied by an expert guide, who once again was able to charm visitors, taking them into the heart of Carrara marble to touch the essence of this wonderful and timeless material.

After the greetings, everyone came back home, enthusiastic and enriched by an authentic experience of marble that cannot be missing from the professional baggage of any professional who wants to design consciously with natural stone. Thank you all so much!

Relive the moment