High-performance composite materials are now so common within architecture and interior design, it can be easy to forget that, like the stone, brick and steel of classic buildings throughout the previous centuries, they originate in the earth. Recognizing this fact, Architizer’s founder Marc Kushner traveled to Cosentino’s global headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Almeria, Spain, to see how contemporary building materials are crafted.
From watching White Macael marble emerge from a local quarry — the same the Cosentino family first quarried more than 60 years ago — to experiencing the high-tech manufacturing process to create Dekton, an ultra-compact surface used for countertops, flooring and even facades — Cosentino’s commitment to innovation is clear.
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“I’d never been to a quarry before, never seen marble come out of the ground, so seeing the marble quarry today was incredibly thrilling for me,” says Kushner, reflecting on the awesome scale and intricate work going on at this vital intersection between man-made and natural environments. “What it made me realize was that the same way that we treat the natural material of marble slabs — being excavated from the ground — is very similar to something like Dekton.”
To create Dekton, the raw materials used to make quartz are mixed with those that make up glass and porcelain, and Kushner notes the innate similarities between the elemental nature of stone and contemporary material combinations. “There’s something incredibly similar between these two materials, but somehow we think of one as natural, and one as man-made,” says the architect. “I’m beginning to think that they’re both man-made, and they’re both equally natural.”
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What was particularly striking to Kushner was the contrast between the rugged environment of the quarry and the pristine, high-tech nature of the 860,000-square-foot Dekton factory, where accuracy is everything. “In the factory … the precision of the machines and the automation … it’s more like you’d expect a contemporary fabrication factory to look. It was thrilling to see a building material with as much rigidity — more rigidity — than stone come out of what seems almost like a laboratory setting.”
Regardless of whether they are using natural or man-made materials for surface finishes, architects ultimately demand the same two qualities for the products that they specify: durability and flexibility. For this reason, explains Kushner, Dekton as an ultra-compact surface is in a category of its own because of its durability and ease of care. “Dekton — and all of Cosentino’s products — are amazing for architects because you can trust in their durability and performance down the line.”
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Beyond these practical traits, architects desire products that are the perfect color and texture, and this is what led Kushner to choose Dekton Sirius for the most personal project yet: a new kitchen in his own home. “I’m using a lot of black,” says the architect, who — like any architect worth their salt — loves dark tones with great tactility. “I connected with the black of the Dekton product,” he explains.
From its origin in the factory to the finished slabs that will soon arrive in Kushner’s kitchen, the journey of Dekton reveals the incredible work that goes into the creation of a surfacing material that blends longevity with aesthetic qualities. It is a process defined by rigorous attention to detail, something that — after years of refinement — Cosentino has really perfected.