Visitors to the Upper Midwest Foodservice and Lodging Show, which took place this past February at the Minneapolis Convention Center, had a chance to feast their eyes on several new eco-friendly Italian tiles. Collections from three leading producers were selected to be on display in an interactive exhibit that explores new materials and design ideas for highly personalized dining environments of the future. The exhibit, appropriately named The Restaurant of the Future, was developed by Architectural Alliance, a prominent Minneapolis-based architectural firm.  

The firm’s design team specified a mix of high performance and sustainable tiles from Floor Gres, Ceramiche My Way and Gambarelli to help illustrate how state-of-the-art materials can re-invent the way we experience a restaurant. According to Eric Peterson, principal with Architectural Alliance, “I attended Cersaie this past year and saw an array of cutting-edge ‘green’ products. In terms of sustainable design and green architecture, Italian manufacturers continue to lead the pack.” Information about these products as well publications from Ceramic Tiles of Italy were available to all who visited the exhibit.

The Restaurant of the Future project featured collections from the following Italian tile manufacturers:

Floor Gres

“Ecotech” is the first porcelain tile produced at the industrial level that reuses the powders, pastes and residues from the manufacture of other products. The result is a new composite material with a textured design, in which the chips and grains are aggregated to create an original mélange effect. The innovative collection is available in four colors: Ecogreen, Ecogray, Ecoblack and Ecolight and two surface finishes: natural and textured. It comes in a wide range of formats including: 8" x 8", 16"x 16", 16"x 32", 32" x 32" and 23.6" x 47", making it an ideal solution for any contemporary space.

Ceramiche My Way

“Rock Glass” is produced using 100% recycled glass.  It is available in ruby, copper, brass and silver and offers coordinating floor and wall tiles. Listellos, measuring 3"x6" with a textured porous stone-look, complete the collection.

Gambarelli

“Oxygena” by Gambarelli is an Italian tile that contains titanium dioxide and acts as an air purifier. As the sunlight hits the surface of the tile, it reacts with the titanium dioxide and produces active oxygen, which oxidizes polluting gases. The gases are turned into ionian nitrate that combines with water or other elements to become eco-compatible. This process can be applied to any collection in the Gambarelli line.

For more information about Ceramic Tiles of Italy, visit www.italiantiles.com.

Cersaie Comes to New York

Katherine Nelson of Metropolitan Home Magazine discusses design trends in Italian tile.

Metropolitan Home Editor Highlights New Trends in Italian Tile


Ceramic Tiles of Italy partnered with New York City’s prestigious Architects & Designers Building for an informative pre-Valentine’s Day event. Design professionals and tile enthusiasts alike flocked to the building to learn about the latest trends in Italian tile.

The evening kicked off with a presentation entitled “The High Style of Tile” by Metropolitan Home Architecture & Design Editor, Katherine E. Nelson.  As a market editor, Nelson has traveled the world to attend design shows including the Milan Furniture Fair, Maison d’Objet and Cersaie. She drew on her experience from these tradeshows to highlight and make comparisons between the new developments in furniture, fashion and floor/wall coverings. She wowed the crowd with images of new Italian tile collections.

Immediately following the seminar, which was held in the Hastings showroom, attendees had the opportunity to visit the buildings’ various showrooms including Artistic Tile, Euro Design Interiors and Studium. A team of architectural docents including Gail Green, John Buscarello, Benjamin Huntington, and Bill Spink conducted tours and talked about the benefits of choosing tile and specifying this material for future projects.

For more information on Ceramic Tiles of Italy, visit www.italiantiles.com.