Design by Prospero Rasulo
The
search for a sign that could summarise different memories: the drape of
Hellenic sculptures, the twisted trunks of monumental olive trees, and the
dynamism of Boccioni’s sculptures. A sign that encloses the idea of strength
and motion in a monolithic shape. Its involving appeal invites the onlooker to
circle it to discover an ever different shape.» Describing his table Elica for
Zanotta (design 2009), Prospero Rasulo cannot avoid a moment charged with
poetical emotion. The table, which is the outcome of technological research on
the use of a composite material such as Cristalplant® (mineral-packed polyester
resins), combines the elegance of a plastic line and practical use. The real
heart of the project lies in the base, whose new generation material allows to
obtain a sinuous shape with sculptural torsions. It is used with full, shaped
volumes in Elica. Cristalplant® combines a high natural mineral load and a low
dose of extremely pure polyester and acrylic polymers. It is inert,
hypoallergenic and non toxic. First used especially for sanitaryware (for its technical
and aesthetic properties) when it was launched on the market, it is now highly
successful even in the sector of interior design for the living area. «We chose
it to create items whose shape can be formed flawlessly with a perfectly
homogeneous design», say the managers of Zanotta’s technical department. «It is
a phenomenal material. Flexible and resistant, it is practically
indestructible. Unlike other compounds that, once scratched or chipped, remain
marked by the defect, Cristalplant® (being a solid surface) can be easily
restored with sponges and abrasive cleaners. The surface remains velvet-like
and pleasant to touch». Shapes are obtained through “low-pressure” moulding in
composite moulds with a process that resembles injection moulding, and which
creates either cut or pasted volumes (welding is done with the same material
and is perfectly camouflaged). Hence, the designer finds neither dimensional
nor shape limits. The finish, which is implemented with very fine sand paper,
makes the surface soft and similar to natural stone. The colour chosen for
Elica is matt white for the base. The top can be made of either Carrara marble
or extraclear, acidated crystal painted in the shade of white (8 mm thickness).
The top is fixed to the base with steel pawls. Available as oval and round
models in two different sizes, the table Rasulo’s frame has an organic shape,
which the designer says «is consistent with its role, since the loops of the
base perfectly embrace the seated body. Material thickness is studied to
support the stress of the table, and its sensual aesthetic simplicity does not
need many words: depth without reflections, like pure matter».
