Interpreting Conviviality: SUNNEI and Bloc Studios’ Marble Dining Room Objects.

At Milan Design Week 2022, SUNNEI meets Bloc Studios’ material-driven approach in a collaborative collection transforming typically dining room objects into one-of-a-kind marble pieces. The outcome is a special tableware series composed of three different-sized plates, a bowl, reversible glasses, wine coolers and a pitcher. Cylindrical stools and a rectangular table are decorated with yellow marble inlays directing the position of all other objects in the collection.

Playing around SUNNEI’s signature take on paradox and contrast, the exclusive collection was set within an enclosed plywood structure at the Milanese brand’s headquarters, designed by Studio Mare.

The concept, born during a conversation between SUNNEI and Bloc Studios, initially aimed to elevate the table and position it on a wooden podium to highlight its bulky size and refined manufacturing. Unfortunately, due to the massive weight of the furniture, the structure would have imploded leaving a huge sinkhole in the middle. This image sparked an idea in the designers’ heads—to recreate exactly that experience.

By walking inside the simple frame, guests get to experience up close the hand-made marble range composed of a rectangular table and four cylindrical stools furnished with all items typically found in a dining room. Each object has a dedicated inlaid position. iPhone on the right, silverware on the left; the opulent set purposefully doesn’t respect the etiquette’s standards, following SUNNEI’s rebellious spirit.

“What really makes me happy about this collaboration is that it comes from our long-time friendship and our mutual esteem,” comments Bloc Studios’ founder Sara Ferron Cima. “The connection with Loris and Simone led us to think about the possibility of doing something together more than once and this project is the outcome of a two-year gestation. During such an extended time frame, the idea evolved repeatedly but these many steps were necessary to reach a perfect synthesis of what we wanted to represent from the beginning. Everything started from our desire to interpret conviviality through the pieces that are needed at dinner. However, this simple concept evolves into a paradox when you think that Bloc Studios is synonymous with marble. Making tableware in marble might sound like a non-sense academic exercise but it is rather exploring the limits of such material. Marble expresses Bloc Studios’ DNA, while SUNNEI brought light-heartedness, provocation and realness to the project. An example is their idea of outlining an iPhone-shaped inlay on the table: they knew that it’s the perfect expression of the contemporary but that it’s also a taboo and wanted to make it anyway.”

For more information, head to playsunnei.it/bloc-studios.

[Images courtesy of SUNNEI. Photography by Nicolò Panzeri.]