The historical local markets of San Lorenzo and Sant’Ambrogio in the centre of Florence, Italy, have been a meeting point for local people for decades; a privileged location from which a sense of community, belonging and sharing has grown. The structure-symbol for local residents and a major tourist attraction, they recently underwent a series of renovation works to update their image and strengthen relations with customers and retailers, with a view to preserving their identity and authenticity.
With the restyling of these two indoor markets, the floors were renovated with the eco-active Active Surfaces® ceramics, chosen for their functionality, healthiness and sustainability.
Both renovations were the work of the Florentine design firm S+S Studio and the architects Nicola Spagni and Diletta Storace, working with the Municipality of Florence, the Superintendence and the market traders. A complex and delicate joint work, the collective aim was to respect the historical values and local tradition, while at the same time restyling the market space to project it into the future.
Located in one of the city’s hot spots, the San Lorenzo Historical Mercato Centrale is in a cast iron and glass building designed by Giuseppe Mengoni, the same architect and engineer who also built the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio. With almost 150 years of history and around 100 stalls, this historical market needed a facelift, to become more contemporary and speak a language that appeals to young people. This led to S+S Studio’s idea of grouping the ground floor stalls under the name of SloWrenzo®, a play on words that adds the concept of slowness and quality to the original name.
The structural works led to the need to replace the old floor which was in bad state due to so many years of use. The idea was to find a solution that solved both formal and technical problems: on one hand, the need to identify an aesthetic solution that could underline the importance and dignity of the space, and on the other, ensuring easy maintenance and sanitization as well as resistance to stress and slipping.
The choice fell on the technical ceramics of FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti—an Iris Ceramica Group brand—, with a collection reminiscent of the city’s cobbled streets. In the interior floor of the market, covering a total of 2500 m2, “Blast” coverings were used in the color Grey, and in the Active Surfaces® version, eco-active surfaces with antibacterial and antiviral (even against SARS-CoV-2), anti-pollution, anti-odor and self-cleaning properties, certified to ISO standards, were used. Thanks to the exposure to (natural or artificial) light and the humidity in the air, these materials are able to eliminate bacteria, viruses, fungi and mould. In the same way, they also eliminate bad odors, prevent the formation of polluting particles and stop dirt from sticking, making rooms healthier and more comfortable. These characteristics do not fade over time but remain active for the whole life cycle. They are also sustainable as they are made from selected raw materials processed in factories with zero emissions of VOCs.
Active Surfaces® also gained general consensus as the correct choice for the project due to their functional efficiency and their safety and hygiene for both retailers and customers. Their strength, non-slip features, sustainability and easy maintenance make them the ideal choice for the Sant’Ambrogio market. For the 700 m2 indoor space, the FMG Urban Dove collection with Active Surfaces® was chosen in size 60×30 cm, with a 13 mm thickness.
For S+S Studio, the Active Surfaces® materials “were a real surprise, also because they met the needs of all the stakeholders. Not only resistant to breakage, wear and chemicals, they are non-slip but also have the added value of being antibacterial and antiviral. We ourselves were fascinated by this concept, and we used it to make our end users, the stall holders, understand the real advantages it offers in terms of safety.”
