For many design observers the name Pininfarinais synonymous with automobiles. In 1930, Battista “Pinin” Farina founded Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in Turin, Italy, precisely to build one-off and small-batch vehicles for a tight circle of wealthy young people. The new company exhibited Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Isotta Fraschini and Fiat cars at the Paris Motor Show shortly thereafter and launched its first special edition in the Lancia Dilambda the following year. Since then, Pininfarina’s remarkably creative and long-term collaborations with vaunted car manufacturers not only popularized individual mobility, but also positioned Battista Farina’s streamlined expression as the gold standard for a whole industry.
Aerodynamics was the “form of speed,” Farina wrote in his memoir, and true aficionados of the brand point to many other types of material culture for which it embodied swiftness. In the late 1970s, company coinheritor Sergio Pininfarina decided to spin off the Centro Studi e Ricerche as a separate design studio, and in 1986, Pininfarina Extra was launched to expand creative services to industrial design and other aspects of transportation design.
The list of Pininfarina’s design accomplishments beyond the auto is almost as long as its greatest hits on four wheels. While this creative team is closely linked to the Olympic Torch produced for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, it has also partnered with producers ranging from Swiss watchmaker House of Bovet to iconic kitchen brand Snaidero on the Tourbillon Ottanta and Ola20, respectively. Whether its design evokes a flickering flame, reveals the intricate inner workings of timekeeping or provides a sculptural counterpoint to daily household work, Pininfarina consistently captures and reenacts movement in the built environment.
For all this depth of experience, the design minds at Pininfarina had never translated this mission to the world of surfaces until recently. The collection EARTH by Pininfarina, manufactured by Casalgrande Padana, is the first tile system designed by the company.
EARTH by Pininfarina borrows more from the world of automotive design than from terra firma, as the collection comprises porcelain stoneware slabs in an array of colors as well as strip tiles in glass, leather and fabric. This material palette is reminiscent of trim packages in car interiors. Moreover, the proportional relationship between the large-format ground and narrow accent tiles conveys precision and speed in the Pininfarina tradition — while, at short range, the combination of textures actually invites a second look and a lingering touch.
Conjuring the vocabulary of luxury automobiles does more than cement Pininfarina’s authorship of the tiles. The EARTH series “sets itself apart from the various imitations of natural materials available on the market,” Casalgrande Padana sales director Mauro Manfredini said in a statement.
The new products may be specified for numerous buildings, including residential, commercial and hospitality types. EARTH by Pininfarina is also available in antibacterial and self-cleaning versions; the latter abates pollution, too.
Ecological performance is expected from Casalgrande Padana, which is a longtime innovator in green ceramic materials. The Italian company has paired sustainability and creative leadership, too, thanks to collaborations with contemporary greats such as architects Kengo Kuma and Daniel Libeskind. If EARTH by Pininfarina allowed the automotive luminary to stretch its wings, it also underscores collaboration as a method for arriving at consistently unique design solutions.
