Travertine in a new light

"I designed Matéria as a non-commisioned piece and presented it in 2019 in Andreas Murkudis’ shop in Berlin. Oliver Holy, owner of ClassiCon, spied the board there and approached me with the idea of working it up into an entire product family," relates Christian Haas. With the "Matéria" low board series for ClassiCon the designer lent the solid travertine an unusual organic shape that opens up new perspectives for processing the open-pore limestone. So as to emphasize the special attributes of the natural material had it milled down by hand as far as was possible. Moreover, the sealing of the stone slabs that was necessary for its use as furniture is barely discernible and preserves the natural feel of the stone. The tabletop is supported by a concealed-mounted metal structure.

Thanks to the pale acorn wood of the table legs harmonious color transitions to the tabletop are also created. As an eyecatcher ClassiCon offers a further version of the low board with stained indentations in indigo: It was through experiments with ink and a water-based dyed wood stain that Haas let soak into the porous stone that prompted him to exploit the stone’s natural structure to create an unexpected "cloudy effect" as he calls it. And he adds: "We turned the supposed ‘disadvantage’ into an advantage and play with the depth of the stone." Brought out in dark blue the indentations in the travertine produce a unique, abstract pattern in every low board.

For the reduced, monochrome design in which heaviness and lightness are combined with one another simultaneously Christian Haas drew on the harmonious unity of the Japanese aesthetics for inspiration. He was also able to incorporate the long experience of the stonemasons in working with travertine in his chosen home of Porto into the product development for ClassiCon. As a result, the low board series "Matéria" with its organic shapes and natural feel is surprisingly sensual and works in three sizes either as a stand-alone object or in an ensemble.