Dezeen promotion: Italian designers Alessandro and Francesco Mendini have reinterpreted a traditional orthogonal grid to create a new collection for tile brand Ceramiche Refin's research and development branch DesignTaleStudio.
The tiles in Atelier Mendini's Filo collection are patterned with thin lines that weave through one another to form zigzagging graphics, designed to create a three-dimensional optical illusion.
"Our decorative patterns originate from a range of references: nature, history, symbols, geometry," said Alessandro and Francesco Mendini.
"The effect created is both geometric and abstract, instantly recalling the Op Art artistic movement," added Ceramiche Refin.
The Filo range includes four colours, with pattern variations that can be mixed and matched. Each measuring 75 by 75 centimetres, the tiles are designed to suit both commercial and residential projects.
First previewed as a prototype at this year's Salone Internazionale del Mobile event in Milan, the Filo collection was officially launched at Bologna's Cersaie tile showcase in September and is now in production.
Ceramiche Refin produces porcelain tiles for interior and exterior projects from its production plant in Salvaterra, Italy. The company set up DesignTaleStudio in 2005 to experiment with aesthetic and material qualities. Visit the company's website for more information.
Here is more information from Ceramiche Refin:
The Filo collection was designed by the Mendini architects as an out-of-competition entry in the "Create your Tile" competition, run by Ceramiche Refin to source new creative inspiration and pursue its path towards ceramic innovation.
The project comprises four graphic works measuring 75 by 75 centimetres, mixed together to create decorative patterns with rapid, random movements. The colours are defined by a careful research into colour trends and are divided by different combinations of backgrounds and thinlines.
"Our decorative patterns originate from a range of references: nature, history, symbols, geometry," said Alessandro and Francesco Mendini.
"In the case of Filo for DesignTaleStudio, the strained weave of the lines comes from the three-dimensional movement of a grid. Waves are created in its geometries, changing their measurements."
"The hypothesis is to obtain a vaguely electrical optical result, drawing attention to the floor as we walk on it."