MASS Collection by Fred Ganim for Agglomerati.

During the upcoming Milan Design Week 2021 at Alcova, Agglomerati, a London-based studio founded in 2019 by Sam Henley, will present its first collection of functional art objects made exclusively in stone, designed with Australian furniture maker Fred Ganim.

Upon its extraction from the earth, marble is cut into large cubic volumes. MASS explores the reduction of these volumes, subverting the material’s inherent behaviours. The collection, a series of modular pieces constructed around a central radius, is both elegant and elemental.

Grounded by its weight, the sheer mass of the material uses gravity as a structural force, cantilevering a system of moveable shelves so that they appear to float parallel to the ground. Each piece is available in several different sizes, slotting together to serve as lecterns, shelves or tables.

The collection is produced in Palissandro marble, sourced in one of northern Italy’s foremost quarries, located near Bergamo. Each piece is executed by Agglomerati’s team of established practitioners, using innovative new technologies and time-honoured traditional techniques. MASS is an open series that can be produced in several different sizes and a selection of other Italian marbles.

Together with MASS, Agglomerati will present a new version of the Round Table created in 2015 by Ganim. This limited-edition piece is carved from a single block of Brazilian Quartzite. The deep grey of the stone is shot through with layers of warm red and cool, natural tones; myriad colours emerge in tightly compressed layers on the table’s smooth surface, and cascade down the legs, each a fluid, folded curve.

For more information on Mass and the upcoming show in Milan, visit agglomerati.com, fredganim.com and alcova.xyz.

Related: Interview: Melbourne-based Furniture Maker Fred Ganim.

[Images courtesy of Agglomerati. Photography by Ben Westoby and Mattia Parodi.]