Project: Zelliges – Mosaics
Author: Andres Siri
Andres Siri has taken the ancient Moroccan art of zellige and reimagined it for modern urban play.
The Zelliges-Mosaics project proposes a 32-piece geometric game inspired by André Paccard’s work on Islamic architectural craftsmanship, freely combinable to explore balance, design, and creativity through sustainable new materials.
ZELLIGE is a game made up of volumetric pieces inspired by André Paccard’s work on traditional Islamic craftsmanship in architecture. Its geometric figures have names in DARIJA that relate the shape to the object it represents. “Chouke” means thorn, “qandil nejjari” is a star-shaped lamp, “difra” is braid, and “qtib ‘amel” heart. ZELLIGE is also defined as a small polished stone.
Recalling Bruno Munari and using the idea of play as the main design concept, the mosaic pieces are transformed by a change in SCALE, TEXTURE, COLOR, and FUNCTION. These changes allow for rethinking their forms and exploring new combinations.
In the structure of traditional mosaics, there is an external and an internal face; a VISIBLE and a HIDDEN face. Through the combination of crystallography, symmetrical and asymmetrical forms, and the use of repetition; the geometry of the pieces transcends the flat and static dimension. They integrate the polished face of the original form with the other faces that make up the body of the piece. They are transformed into dynamic volumes that allow for free construction in space, reflecting a moment of EQUILIBRIUM.
The application of CNC technology to low- and high-density rigid polyurethane sheets achieve the transfer of the volume of the piece, previously designed in 3D. The materialization of the final shape with the resin and recycled fibers is done by pouring the material into the open mold produced by the CNC.
OPTIO-ELECTIO: By increasing, reducing, removing, or changing the proportions, with the resin and its components, with the fibers and the different granulometries, or with the pigment color, an inexhaustible combination of results is obtained. Textures, colors, intensity, transparency or opacity, polished or rough surfaces, allow the pieces to be combined or distinguished either individually or within the series as a whole.
The YouRban project investigates the use of new materials, adapting FIBER REINFORCED POLYMERS (FRP) to new technologies, creating a sustainable design within a CIRCULAR system, and promoting the use and reuse of materials. Small stones that reveal history and tradition, technology and design; in a past and present in constant transformation.
