Eco-friendly stone, respect for tradition and advanced technology

Stone evokes a web of emotions that can be drawn upon to rediscover values, traditions and a sense of history. This important element is much more than a simple building material: it is a protagonist of space and time, whether used in an urban district or rural village, inside or outside a home.

Eco-friendly stone has an important role in enhancing and revitalizing the historical and cultural heritage that is typical of this material. It offers, at the same time, a technical evolution in materials that are fully ecologically compatible and safeguard the health of man and the environment.

The Biopietra collection is the benchmark of an ambitious compromise for which we should all strive: to ensure that respect for tradition coexists with cutting-edge technology.

This is better explained by the Architect, Mr. Bellomi, who has designed and created entire city environments and residential areas using flooring and cladding from the Biopietra line. “Stone carries with its cultural values,” explains Mr. Bellomi, “in particular the rediscovery of traditions. The eco-friendly stone in the Biopietra line has enabled me to reinterpret traditional building methods, thereby enhancing the contents. In this way I have been able to create a type of stone that resembles local stone more than any other: all I had to do was to provide Kerma with some samples of the result I wanted to achieve.”

Often we ask ourselves if there can be a real harmony of solutions in using materials such as those of the Biopietra collection to create and restore buildings according to local traditions. “Yes, indeed,” confirms Mr. Bellomi, “Sometimes it is not possible to use the pure material, therefore when a product, such as Biopietra, resembles the original product so closely I don’t think it can be classified as artificial, but, on the contrary, it satisfies traditional requirements. This is what I achieved while working at the project “Corte Bolla” in Soave, in the province of Verona: an important restoration project inside the medieval town, alongside twelfth-century buildings and at the foot of the famous castle dated around the year 1000.”

Let’s go to the heart of the “Corte Bolla” project, trying to understand the process of design, study and development, but also the strong points and any critical aspects from the point of view of the professional. “Initially, during the design phase, I thought about using real stone. Then I had some samples made with products from the Biopietra line, using the colours in the catalogue that were the most similar to the local stone. Later tests were carried out on stones collected on site: in this way we achieved an excellent solution, which is producing good results.”

Restoration and valorisation of traditions, innovation in materials, but also the possibility of personalisation: goals that Biopietra achieves with each project, which make the collection synonymous with design freedom and ease of realisation, and which open new opportunities for all Architecture and Design Studies. “If the final quality of the materials continues to correspond to the historic standards of stone,” goes on Mr. Bellomi, “and the cost remains competitive, Biopietra will continue to have an excellent future, gaining in popularity with customers and final consumers.”

But what are the most suitable projects able to match eco-friendly architecture with a strong aesthetic impact - projects in which, therefore, products from the Biopietra collection could be used? “Most certainly projects that are carried out in areas with restrictions,” replies Bellomi, “and where the designer wants to create a contrast between modern and traditional materials while retaining the style and historical features of the original buildings.”

We know that the Biopietra collection (and its top-of-the-range collection, the Biopietra Prestige Collection) is the only line in Europe with all its products classed as completely eco-friendly and certified by ANAB. “This factor weighs heavily on my professional and design decisions,” continues Bellomi, “together with the ability to personalise the environments. If the designer has the opportunity to choose colours and types that draw on the traditions of the place, he also has a greater ability to impose choices on his customer.”

And future scenarios? What can we expect, or hope for, in the field of eco-friendly stone and materials for ecological construction and architecture? “My view,” concludes Mr. Bellomi, “is that we will think more and more in terms of eco-sustainability, both in Italy and abroad. In the Lombardy–Veneto basin, for example, we have had many customers asking for materials from the Biopietra collection for buildings such as small villas, or for small private projects.

I would say that the road we are following is the correct one, even if there is still a long way to go.”