Morph

Architectural details

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  Designing with the Algorithm

  The first Morph XS design for ICÓNICO Series is inspired by the well-known hexagonal pavement designed by Antoni Gaudí around 1904, featuring reliefs of shells, seaweed, and starfish, which still remains on Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia as one of its defining elements. This iconic tile, now part of MoMA’s collection, was revolutionary in its time but has not evolved since. The company that currently manufactures it—using the same craftsmanship as in the past—is also responsible for producing this new design, conceived around the idea of “re-evolution” that defines Morph’s philosophy, now applied through the digital tools of the 21st century.

  While it retains the same shape and size as Gaudí’s original, it introduces a fundamental difference: the pieces are laid randomly, creating no repetitive pattern—an unprecedented feature. Its sinuous forms evoke the sensation of walking on a mantle of sand. Sand, as it is called, is a living pavement that changes with sunlight and helps reduce urban air pollution thanks to a photocatalytic additive that breaks down polluting oxides (NOx and SOx) into particles harmless to human health. As a comparative example, paving one hectare could offset the pollution generated by 3,500 vehicles over the course of a year.

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  In Praise of Shadow

  Frames, a series of electrical mechanisms, features the dynamism created by the succession of straight or angled planes that add depth and visual tension around a simple socket. Its design echoes the elegant industrialized façade developed by Morph for Nido Príncipe Pío in Madrid. A small LED positioned at the edge of the switch adds a technical accent to improve functionality. All components are separable and recyclable at the end of their lifecycle.

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  Handle In, a door handle inspired by the Santa María residential complex in Estepona (Málaga), is recessed into the door, without protrusions, creating a continuous plane—similar to those found in many modern automobiles. Its purpose is both functional and aesthetic: to prevent children from injuring themselves by hitting handles positioned at head height, a common issue with most handles on the market.

   

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  Handle Out, from the same family, is conceived as a sculpture in motion that translates the forms of the Bosque de Atocha—another of Morph’s Madrid buildings, renowned for its organic architecture—into a different scale, transforming an everyday gesture into a sensory experience. Turning it upwards locks the door, eliminating the need for bolts or latches. Optionally, it can incorporate a point of light to locate it in the dark.

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  Line and Layers are two door designs created to accompany these elements, intentionally opposed to demonstrate that minimalism can coexist with its opposite without losing elegance. The first features a clean, precise line; the second is conceived as a parametric reinterpretation of modernist carving. The shadows they cast, shaped by the hands of a contemporary master cabinetmaker, create an almost vegetal geometric image.

   Returning to the beginning, the lines of the Sand pavement also echo those that wrap vertically around the renovation of the former Incosol Hotel in Marbella, now operating under the Oakmond brand. It is available in six catalogue colours: New Mexico White, Mojave Grey (light), Lanzarote Grey (dark), Sahara Sand, Hawaii Green, and Namibia Red.

• ÚNICO, ICÓNICO & CO
• Pallars 85
• 08018 Barcelona