Sustainability
a value to be combined
together

SOS - School of Sustainability

SOS – School of Sustainability, based in Milan, Italy, is a post-graduate school founded in 2015 by Mario Cucinella, focused on training emerging professionals in the field of sustainability.

The School is open to recent graduates and young professionals to develop innovative projects with a positive impact on society, the economy and the environment through education, practice and research. Thanks to the close collaboration with partners in the branch, SOS is a creative laboratory born in close collaboration with Mario Cucinella Architects (MCA), where education is inspired by active projects and cutting-edge skills in a context of professional practice.

Mario Cucinella, architect

Mario Cucinella, architect, designer and academic, is one of the most appreciated designers for his research into the environmental sustainability of buildings.

All his work focuses on the long-term positive impact that each building should have on the surrounding environment and its natural, social, economic and urban regeneration.

In 1992 he founded MCA – Mario Cucinella Architects studio, specialized in architectural design that integrates environmental and energy strategies.

the collaboration

SOS - School of Sustainability and Mardegan Legno

Nature, beauty and respect: exploring Mardegan Legno’s world

The idea of cooperating with SOS came from the desire of Mardegan Legno to continue the path of capsule collections; through the development of new collections that have as their primary focus sustainability and environmental protection.

From the meeting of Mardegan Legno with SOS – School of Sustainability comes an opportunity to develop a new wood floor collection that respects the environment and coherent with business ideas; an opportunity for SOS to see the work of a young talent concretized and recognized.

Design Week 2023
These designs were presented as part of a competition and the winning design became the SOS – Mardegan capsule collection, presented during Design Week 2023.

the projects

Students together with the teachers spent a day at the headquarters of Mardegan Legno.
This opportunity was useful to have an induction on Mardegan Legno’s world.
The collection to be developed had to focus on sustainability and minimize material waste, as well as
being saleable, possibly not only as a floor covering but also as a wall covering, becoming a design object.

Designer Edoardo Cicala

Gattopardo collection

Project concept
The project is inspired by the villas of the “Piana dei Colli” of Palermo, the designer’s hometown. The basic concept is very simple and linear: a triangle. This recalls the classic floors of the houses of the 17th and 18th centuries where the floors, with bright colors, have characterized the southern architecture and in particular the Sicilian. The single element combined in multiple different ways, creates vibrant and dynamic geometries.

Designer Georgina Muñoz

Hive collection

Project concept
The inspiration for the realization of the project comes from nature and mathematics. The starting geometry is a simple succession of hexagons, reminiscent of a beehive. The pattern is enriched by elements of complexity, which follow very precise rules: the hexagons have been framed and the pattern of the succession of colors is precise and follows a logic that allows you to create a “wave effect”. The result is a more complex and structured visual effect.

Designer Carlo Caire

Strampelli collection

Project concept
The project is a tribute to Nazareno Strampelli, agronomist and geneticist. Wood and stone have always been widely used materials in agriculture.
From their combination comes a quadrotta, inspired in design by the grinders and wheels of mills.
The geometry combines wood and stone: the rougher feeling of the first with the freshness of the second create a unique and harmonious whole.

In collaboration with:

Designer Ruben Garrido

Dojo colletion

Project concept
The starting point of the project is the study of the impact of the surrounding environment on mental health. A simple and orderly environment has a positive influence, improves productivity and transmits well-being, calming stress and anxiety. The inspiration is obviously Asian: the pattern is regular and is inspired by bamboo cane. The productive intervention on the raw material is reduced to a minimum.

Designer Oskar P. Haraldssøn

Bolgelendge collection

Project concept
The basic idea of the project is to break the linearity of traditional parquet, as it has been conceived until today, taking inspiration from the trees. A curved element is then inserted.
The strengths of this design are a flexible and easy to install composition. On very large environments, despite the design results at a first impression simple, is able to convey movement and harmony.

Designer Daniel Tafurt

Vueltiao collection

Project concept
Sombrero Vueltiao is the typical hat of Colombia, handmade in natural fibers from the native Colombian populations. It contains several symbols, all with ancestral meanings.
One of these has become the pattern of the project that, thanks to the contrast between light and dark, is able to give three-dimensionality and great movement to the surface.

Designer Paolo Duranti

Assisi collection

Project concept
The project takes inspiration from Piazza Inferiore di San Francesco in Assisi, which with a scenic porch that surrounds it, creates a game of perspective thanks to the geometric stone floor of various colors. The pattern of the project wants to communicate rhythm and continuity where the light element is enclosed and interspersed with a thin and dark element.

Designer Nicola Capozzo

Parts of OO collection

Project concept
The starting point of the project is a polygon: the pentagon. A figure that is rarely used to cover a surface. From this figure, eight new compositions have been obtained, the difference lies in the proportions between the various sides. These eight alternatives combine perfectly to tile a surface, minimizing waste.

Designer Edoardo Lavanna

Palladio collection

Project concept
The project is inspired by the works of Andrea Palladio: a synthesis of aesthetics and geometry; the pattern of the project is obtained from the Palladian floor. The main obstacle, however, was that it did not have a fixed size of the individual elements. However, this limit has been resolved thanks to the Penrose tessellation: two basic geometries have been identified which, thanks to their different combinations, can give life to a Linea Periodica and a Linea Aperiodica.

Designer Flavia Torretta

Ècdisi collection

Project concept
The name of the collection comes from the Greek and refers to the process of wetting the cuticle or exoskeleton of many invertebrates.
The inspiration for the proposed geometry comes from the study of the snake and its skin, from this a pattern has been obtained and from this a module. The single element, in fact, recalls the scale of the reptiles. Like snakes, the aim of the collection is to adapt and last in a practically infinite time: in fact, if necessary, the individual elements can be replaced over time.

Designer Edoardo Cicala