

Who: Laura Papp
Where: Budapest
Materials: Cast porcelain with leather and rubber
How: To recreate the stone surfaces of Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família cathedral in the heel of a shoe, designer Laura Papp turned to porcelain. Its first use in footwear, and her first time using the material, “was a big experiment. It was a huge task to find the appropriate material,” she says. Yet it was worth the effort. “It looks extremely elegant, but it’s very strong and able to withstand immense pressure.”

Who: Dua Collection
Where: Cologne, Germany
Material: High-density concrete
How: What looks like folded paper, even close up, is actually rotation-moulded concrete. The designers at Dua began by experimenting with high-density concrete’s possibilities for replicating fine textures. According to managing director Alexander Esslinger, “The more we understood the material, the more possibilities we found to shape the final design. It’s like a discussion between the material and us.”

Who: Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard and Philippe-Albert Lefebvre
Where: Lausanne, Switzerland
Material: Terrazzo
How: The ubiquity of terrazzo, the durable flooring common in hallways, tempted Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard and Philippe-Albert Lefebvre to fashion the humble aggregate into shelves, stools and lighting. “The suspended lamp was the most challenging, requiring processes uncommon to terrazzo craftsmen,” says Halmaï-Voisard. Instead of pouring the liquid mix of glass chips and cement, the team cast it into a solid block, which was then machined with a diamond-coated chain. The seemingly heavy fixture hangs from two thin wires, making it appear as light as air.

Who: Kueng Caputo
Where: Zurich
Materials: Sand with pigment and binder
How: Sarah Kueng and Lovis Caputo didn’t choose to create their stools from sand; it was the only option available during their residency in Jaipur, India. “There was nothing, no tools except a microwave,” says Caputo. “But we were surrounded by sand and pigments.” They developed the technique by pouring a special mix of sand and binder, layer by layer, into a casting mould. Solid and heavy, the resulting chairs come in unique colour gradients.