Patricia Urquiola at the Earthquake 5.9 exhibition
The ” Earthquake 5.9 ” collection is a tribute to the Emilia earthquake of May 2012 that affected many businesses in the area, including Budri’s.
The Budri Italian marble inlay “Earthquake 5.9 collection” by Patricia Urquiola utilizes broken slabs of marble waste from last year’s earthquake in Northern Italy, that are now too small or irregular to use for large applications.
It’s a collection of furnishing items and coverings in marble and onyx, created using hundreds of fragments of ‘quake-struck’ slabs, to create something beautiful, to inject life back into something that had been totally destroyed in the space of a few seconds
Earthquake 5.9
The 2012 Emilia earthquake destroyed Budri’s archive of semi-precious materials: plates of onyx, lapis lazuli, amethysts and pearls were reduced to pieces. The company had to relocate temporarily to a base in Verona.
Before then, Budri has been operating for more than fifty years in the stone industry, with a production of marble and stone of unmatched quality.
Patricia Urquiola chose wood for the structure of the stand, a warm and welcoming material, resistant and anti-seismic, as if to safeguard the company and its rich array of stones through a strong and protective shelter.
Inside the stand, the Earthquake 5.9 project continues in a secret room where fragments of marble ‘rescued’ from the slabs damaged by the earthquake cover an entire wall that Patricia transforms into an exclusive artistic inlay with her creative generosity.
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Alessandra Budri at the exhibition
Using these fragments, Patricia Urquiola has given rise to the original collection “Earthquake 5.9”: small tables, bookcases, wall panels, floor decorations.
The work also reveals “for reflection” on the scrap materials by implementing a small revolution (in progress and growing).
Earthquake 5.9
Alessandra Budri explains the day following the earthquake …….. “We received a totally unexpected phone call: it was Patricia, calling from Singapore. She had heard about the earthquake in Emilia; worried about us, she immediately sought reassurance that we were all well.”
She realized straight away from our account that the situation was terrible, but with her positive and creative outlook,
Patricia immediately had the idea of creating a special project that could try to draw something positive from such a tragic event: ……..“Alessandra, we’ll construct a project with all your wonderful quake-damaged slabs”. Working together to create something beautiful, to inject life back into something that had been totally destroyed in the space of a few seconds; with optimism and confidence I took up the challenge.”
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