Capriccio
Remains
Collected from industrial “marble cemeteries” where shards, slabs, and offcuts accumulate—the discarded fragments represent the byproducts of centuries of extraction. The project transforms these materials by embracing their inherent irregularity as a design feature.
As a first direction, to give new life to these fragments in their accumulation, Payam Askari chose resin as a binding material capable of suspending these fragments in time and space.
These marble fragments were collected and carefully arranged and cast in resin in layers, enhancing the shapes and colors of the stone, and creating a kind of 3d ‘terrazzo’ effect that showcases the interplay between organic chaos of the marble and the structured clarity of the resin. After casting, this composite slab is carefully cut to reveal new surfaces. The overlapping arrangement adds depth, allowing marble pieces of various shapes to interweave. This new hybrid material was used to imagine various objects and a shelving system, where it was combined with solid sheets of anodized aluminum to intertwine the two slabs seamlessly. The choice of aluminum, a lightweight and industrial material,
infuses a sense of vibrancy and modernity into the otherwise austere nature of marble.
Payam Askari is a multidisciplinary designer and architect based in Paris. Originally from Iran, he graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven and, after settling in the French capital, worked for prestigious fashion and jewellery houses, creating architecture and interiors as well as jewellery, furniture and objects. Graphic and layered, his approach to design is scenographic and meticulous. With a sensibility for pure forms and clean lines, he combines contemporary and historical references, craftsmanship with new techniques and experimental materials and is interested in the juxtaposition of new technologies within architecture and design to tell new stories.
Founded in 2018 by Irene Cicero and Federico Dal Brun, Omniaworks operates in the interior design sector for retail, hospitality and luxury residential projects: an expression of aesthetic beauty and technical perfection. As a general contractor, they manage every aspect of renovation projects and the creation of customised interiors and furniture: from development and production to logistics and installation. In addition to these services, they have worked on exclusive projects that cross the boundaries of art, architecture and design, such as collaborations with architect Anne Holtrop and the designers of Lecoadic Scotto.