SolidNature and Sabine Marcelis make a splash with ‘The Vondel Fountain, Stacked’ in Amsterdam

Last week, on a warm September evening during Amsterdam Fashion Week 2024, there was something of a pre-show buzz in the city's Vondelpark as fashion crowds and a curious public gathered together around the park's central lake. All eyes were fixed on an amorphous cloth-covered structure that sat mysteriously at its centre. On the nearby bank, David Mahyari, the young and charismatic co-founder and CEO of stone brand SolidNature, rounded up a speech to mark its unveiling by declaring that ‘the future belongs to the dreamers’, before the cloth was pulled back to unveil a sculptural fountain made up of three stacked blocks of blue onyx. As water began to flow from the geometric volumes, the crowd cheered. Passersby stopped to pull out their camera phones and dog walkers sat on the grass to listen to the sound of the cascading water as the evening sunlight played on the fountain's silvery blue surfaces.

SolidNature unveils ‘The Vondel Fountain, Stacked’

‘The Vondel Fountain, Stacked’ – which will remain in the Vondelpark for at least three months – is the latest project in a decade-long collaboration between Amsterdam-based SolidNature and Dutch designer Sabine Marcelis. Previous works with the brand include a series of rotating marble and onyx chairs and tables, a freestanding pink onyx bathroom, and a seven-metre-long table and bar made using six different types of travertine.

‘The design process in this case was very interesting,’ explained Mahyari at the launch event. ‘Normally, you start from a design and then you ask 'how many slabs do I need?' But in this specific case, there was material available, and Sabine needed to design around the available material, which was a whole different way of designing.’

The blue onyx slabs Mahyari refers to were originally part of SolidNature’s prize-winning installation by OMA showcased at Milan Design Week 2023. The repurposing of materials is something Mahyari is keen to continue in order to minimise waste and reduce the environmental footprint of the brand's designs. ‘We wanted to create impact by creating a shocking contrast,’ he told the gathered crowd. ‘I would say, with the greenness of the park, you will see that it almost feels artificial. It almost feels like it's AI.’

Indeed, the blue onyx has an artificial element, because the blue colour is created by layering translucent onyx with an aluminium honeycomb structure and painted blue to enhance the natural hue of the stone. The vivid shade was echoed throughout the event; in the clothes worn by models who welcomed guests to the drinks reception, in the cups guests drank from and even the drinks themselves.

‘Water has been a recurring element in my work, acting as both a medium and a source of inspiration,’ says Marcelis, highlighting water’s ability to transform spaces through movement, sound, and ambience. ‘My journey has included designing fountains for renowned institutions and brands, such as the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona and luxury fashion house Fendi.’ she adds. ‘We've done a lot of collaborations with fashion brands and my approach is not dissimilar to that of fashion, creating really interesting silhouettes with beautiful materials. We've done many projects together with SolidNature all over the world for fashion brands, so it feels like a full circle moment to bring it back to Amsterdam this time.’

The theatrical unveiling and collaborative nature of the Vondelpark fountain project is part of a longer-term campaign of Mahyari's to position and operate SolidNature much like a luxury fashion brand. This can be seen in its focus on small-scale product launches, one-off installations and the introduction of trend-led colours and materials.

Artistic collaborations have seen the brand partner with luxury cashmere brand Harden on an apparel collection informed by the different varieties of stone, sculptures with jewellery designer Ward Strootman and seating with Iranian artist Bita Fayyazi. ​

Inspired by fashion houses, Mahyari, who founded the company with his brother in 2011 and took over as CEO in 2018, structured SolidNature's offerings into four tiers: Standard (off-the-shelf tiles), Readymade (cut-to-size tiles for larger projects), Made-to-measure (custom designs for architects), and Bespoke (exclusive services for clients with unique requests, like custom-coloured stone or speciality coatings). This approach allows the brand to offer a full range of tailored services, from standard products to highly specialised projects, similar to the segmentation seen in fashion with ready-to-wear and haute couture.

‘We are unique in that we offer all these services–normally companies only do tiles or specialise in innovation, but not everything. We have the whole package,’ says Mahyari, highlighting some of the company’s more elaborate bespoke projects, like developing a waterproof coating for an onyx pool or injecting pink and green pigments into onyx for Prada Foundation elevators.

It’s the day after the unveiling of Marcelis’ sculpture and Mahyari is back at the brand’s impressive production facility and showroom on the outskirts of Amsterdam. As we walk through the space marveling at the factory machines and vast stone library, he discusses SolidNature’s plans for becoming a zero-waste operation.

He plans to create a circular buy-back system whereby stone used in luxury store fit-outs can be installed in such a way that it can be returned and repurposed at the end of its commercial life; how offcuts in his factory’s ‘stone graveyard’ could be used by young designers, and even ways in which stone dust could be reused.

Already his mind has moved on from the events of yesterday. ‘It’s not that I’m not grateful and happy,’ he reflects. ‘But this is my job – to keep moving things forward. The moment we get comfortable, I need to come in to give it another push, create a whirlwind, and then organise it all again.'

solidnature.com