Dezeen promotion: Italian ceramics manufacturer Marazzi has opened a new showroom in Milan, which architects Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel have made to resemble a collector's library.
The Marazzi showroom is situated at the heart of the city's Durini design district. It has been designed by Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel, who together run Milan-based architecture practice ACPV, to showcase the brand's range of extra-large stone slabs.

Rather than creating a traditional store layout, the pair instead took note from wunderkammers or, in English, cabinets of curiosity ? a piece of furniture or room dedicated to displaying a notable collections of objects.
The cabinets of curiosity first appeared in homes of the wealthy during the 16th century and could include everything from archaeological relics to favoured works of art and antiquities.
"There's a kind of magic in Marazzi's product design and development ? technology and creativity transform a generic and inert raw material into surfaces that evoke ancient workmanship," explained Viel.
"To evoke this alchemy, the showroom project becomes a collector's library, a wunderkammer of colours and materials, a rug souk and a maze of rooms that form a constant visual sequence, yet are each different and surprising."

Products have been displayed artefact-style throughout the 400 square-metre retail space. In one room, tall stone slabs have been suspended from tracks on the ceiling "like rich Persia...