Cyberwall

By Editorial Staff - 1 September 2021
Iris Ceramica Group has participated in the project

The climate change crisis is an incredibly topical issue that directly involves many different industries. Clearly, the construction sector is one of these, and it has increasingly come to realize the importance of this topic and the need to find solutions across the supply chain.

It is also an issue at the forefront of the 17^th International Architecture Exhibition organized by La Biennale di Venezia through the Resilient Communities project by Alessandro Melis, the curator of the Italy Pavilion. The goal here is to place the climate crisis at the heart of the debate in an effort to find solutions to the connected social and environmental problems. The approach to this project is multi-disciplinary, with Melis working with a team of co-curators and sponsors, of which Iris Ceramica
Group is main sponsor.

As part of the exhibition, Iris Ceramica Group’s surfaces are the core of the Cyberwall installation, which is the key element in the “Architecture as a Caregiver” section that explores the relationship between people and the environment.

Cyberwall is an imposing wall made with Active Surfaces™ ceramic tiles measuring 300x150 cm. Melis then used this as the background on which to experiment with different display techniques, making particular use of the Design Your Slabs technology developed by Iris Ceramica Group specifically to make it possible to customize tiles with a desired image or illustration.

The result is a merger of creativity and industry that produces a highly visual installation and a tangible example of a commitment to responsible manufacturing. It is effectively a testimony to the company’s ceaseless commitment to develop sustainable materials that truly respond to future needs.

Active Surface™ has specific anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties that are activated when natural or artificial light hits and even work in the dark, killing 99% of germs. It is also a self-cleaning surface that helps degrade pollutants and odors. Research conducted jointly with Milan’s State University showed the surface was 94% effective in eliminating Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 after a mere four hours of exposure to UV light.

This result is a clear demonstration of how materials research can produce a combination of esthetics and performance that really adds fundamental value to everyday life.

As Federica Minozzi, the CEO of Iris Ceramica Group, says, “Sponsorship of the 2021 Italy Pavilion, including the Cyberwall installation, has great value for Iris Ceramica Group, as it marks the pathway to the study and production of forward-looking materials
that make urban environments more
people-friendly”.