Three New Shades for Seves glassblock Glass Blocks

Orange, fuchsia and violet are the three new shades selected by Atelier Mendini to preview its new colours range conceived for Seves glassblock.

A palette of strong and audacious shades has been conceived by the designers for a new collection of brighter and more intense glass blocks' colours, thanks to special production technologies.

For the debut of the first three colours of the new palette - currently in the phase of completion - a creation by its inventors has been chosen, 'Il Balletto dello Chef' (The Chef's Ballet), the restaurant conceived by the dynamic Mendini brothers for the Guest Village exhibition at SIA GUEST from 24th to 27th November 2007.

A scenographic and iridescent reception-screen consisting of three glass block totems introduced guests to the lunch area, culminating in a stage-kitchen to be used totally for the visual-culinary perfomances of the chef and his assistants.

This is the tangible demonstration of the perfect harmony between Seves glassblock and Atelier Mendini, tied up by the curiosity to experiment - with colours, models, shapes - to transcend the traditional uses of the material, typically associated with the passage of light, also highlighting its expressive and decorative capacities.

Projects Realised

Deusto University Library by Rafael Moneo in Bilbao (Spain)
The link with the past and the tension towards the future characterise the project for the University Library of the Jesuits of Deusto in Bilbao, in which Seves, a world leading company in the market of glass blocks, is involved alongside a major name in architecture, Rafael Moneo.

Conceived to host a genuine treasure, 800.000 volumes, the library - located in one of the 'hottest' European areas from an architectural point of view, between the university area of Deusto and the famous Guggenheim museum by US architect Frank O. Gehry - chooses glass block as an aesthetic element.

Playing on the different perception of the material depending on the distances from it, Moneo created an architecture legible from afar as a monolithic, monochrome, neutral volume, but revealing from close up a complexity of textures and nuances thanks to the use of a special 30x30 cm glass block created for that purpose by Seves glassblock, experimenting for the first time the application of a three-dimensional decor on a glass surface.

The Doric glass block, as it was named, presents the peculiarity of having its outer face consisting of parallel fluted patterns in relief, evoking the jagged motif of Doric Hellenic columns; a motif that is also taken up on the other face of the block, but internally, so the surface is smooth to the touch.

After prestigious customised realisations such as the Q42 glass block with the extraordinary dimensions 42.8x42.8 cm for the Maison Hermès in Tokyo by Renzo Piano, and the 30x30 cm Trapezoidal piece for the Tiberio's Baths in Panticosa by the studio Moneo-Brock, the new Doric 30x30 cm glass block represents the last excellent example of Seves glassblock Tailor Made service, which allows the architects to create 'ad hoc' solutions, to meet specific projectual needs, for both smaller or bigger volumes.

Web: http://www.sevesglassblock.com