Florim’s new ceramic surface collection is an ode to tactility

Matteo Thun and Benedetto Fasciana have imparted charm and tactility to their SensiTerre surface collection for Florim

(Image credit: Courtesy of Florim)

published 17 January 2025

We are delighted with the prevalence of texture and tactility in material surfaces of late. In place of veneers, coatings and treatments that divorce the sensorial experience between hand and eye, we welcome the return of natural materials bearing their natural characteristics. Perhaps counterintuitively, we have technology to thank for the ability to scale artisanal properties into architectural materials.

Here, we celebrate Italian architects Matteo Thun and Benedetto Fasciana’s SensiTerre collection of ceramic flooring and cladding surfaces for Florim. Comprising six earthy shades, four textured finishes and a variety of shapes and sizes, the collection offers a multitude of possible configurations. In all arrangements, the primal pleasure of environments that feel ‘made’ more than manufactured is undeniable.

SensiTerre collection of ceramic flooring and cladding surfaces for Florim

SensiTerre is derived from Thun and Fasciana’s limited-edition collection of terracotta vases ‘Venere Bianca’, which they made with Bitossi in 2014. In the decade since they were launched, we’ve seen the embrace of craft’s properties extend from objects of singular beauty into environments of mood through materials that bear the marks of their maker.

The effect is to feel a far greater sensory engagement with our interiors; they bring to life our animal qualities. Florim attained B Corp certification in 2020 and, impressively, 100 per cent of its raw production waste and wastewater is recovered. The SensiTerre collection is part of the CarbonZero project, whereby all CO2 emissions are offset throughout the lifecycle of the surfaces. Beauty is more than skin deep.

florim.com, matteothun.com

Find all the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2025 winners in the February 2025 issue of Wallpaper* , available in print on international newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

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Hugo is a design critic, curator and the co-founder of Bard, a gallery in Edinburgh dedicated to Scottish design and craft. A long-serving member of the Wallpaper* family, he has also been the design editor at Monocle and the brand director at Studioilse, Ilse Crawford's multi-faceted design studio. Today, Hugo wields his pen and opinions for a broad swathe of publications and panels. He has twice curated both the Object section of MIART (the Milan Contemporary Art Fair) and the Harewood House Biennial. He consults as a strategist and writer for clients ranging from Airbnb to Vitra, Ikea to Instagram, Erdem to The Goldsmith's Company. Hugo recently returned to the Wallpaper* fold to cover the parental leave of Rosa Bertoli as global design director, and is now serving as its design critic.