ARCOLITICO

Parametric design and CNC marble processing

Arcolitico is an experimental parabolic arch made of marble. It was designed on a computer using parametric software and processed in an entirely cutting-based procedure using a CNC wire frame.
This project has pushed beyond the traditional concept of shaping rocks by removing excess materials, creating a complex, curved, fluted and empty form through separation: the pieces are divided and waste is reduced almost to 0%.
The symbolic notion of an arch serves as a gateway to a new era in which rocks and stones are processed using cutting-edge technology and can continue to realize their enormous potential with highly contemporary forms of expression.

The design specificity that characterises this arched work lies mainly in the production technique with its possibilities of use for limiting material waste. The entire parabolic shape, cake and groove, comes from the desire to experiment the production of articulated shapes with reduced waste through the use of a precise technique: numerically controlled diamond wire-cutting.

The entire arch is made up of 34 overlapping marble rings, which are fastened to a supporting metal structure.
Each ring consists of four quarters for a total of 136 different elements.
All the elements are obtained concentrically from four “large blocks”, two on the right side and two on the left side of the arch.