Déchirer porcelain floor by Mutina with concrete-effect bas-relief

Déchirer by Mutina — elegantly skid-resistant, in Urquiola's own words

Mutina

Patricia Urquiola

Decor Piombo
Decor Piombo Available now
£ 592

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Trade terms for professionals and design studios

Slip resistance usually arrives as a compromise — a rougher finish, a duller surface, a safety suffix. Déchirer made it a design thesis: Patricia Urquiola's barely perceptible bas-relief was, in her words, the first that could be walked on — «a walkable footprint, elegantly skid-resistant». The relief is what remains, she says, of torn memories (déchirer: to tear) — and it happens to grip: R10 on both Decor and Neutral, DIN 51097 class B, Pendulum Class 1, declared rather than implied.

The material carries the thought: unglazed full-body porcelain — colour through the entire 12 mm, achieved «with the sole distribution of quality bodies», no glaze to wear, Mohs 8, breaking strength 61.2 N/mm² against the 35 required. Made on the Continua line in rectified, single-calibre slabs, each exactly like the next. Five colours across Decor and Neutral, the cement-toned La Suite (Net and Trace), a recycled-glass mosaic for walls — and the oversize hexagon up to 120×120. Six awards, 2009-2011, from Best of NeoCon to ICFF.

Where the grip earns its keep

The grip works everywhere the sheet allows — floor and wall, indoor and outdoor, frost included: receptions, boardrooms, washrooms, break areas, terraces. Step, corner and skirting pieces complete the detail. Datasheet and certificates download from this page.

Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.

Collection: Déchirer (+ La Suite, Glass)
Manufacturer: Mutina
Design: Patricia Urquiola, 2008 (La Suite 2010, Glass 2009) — 4 registered designs (2009/2011)
Material: unglazed full-body porcelain stoneware, Continua technology, UNI EN 14411 App. G (BIa) UGL — rectified single-calibre slabs; Glass: artisanal recycled-glass mosaic, 4.5 mm (0.18 in)
Formats: 120×120, 60×120, 60×60, hexagon 120×120, hexagon 60×60, random mosaic 21.4×44.4 (La Suite also 30×120) — 12 mm (0.47 in) — step and corner 33×120, skirting 3.8×60
Range: Decor (relief) and Neutral in Bianco, Grigio, Piombo, Ecrù, Nero — La Suite Net and Trace in Calce, Cemento, Cenere — Glass in 5 colours
Use: floor and wall — indoor and outdoor
Declared values: absorption 0.06% (ISO and ASTM) — breaking strength 61.2 N/mm² — Mohs 8 — frost-proof — chemicals class A — stains class 5 min — slip R10 (Neutral and Decor), DIN 51097 B, Pendulum Class 1
Sustainability: 20% pre-consumer recycled (LEED 4.1 declaration); glaze-free Continua process, 100% recycled process water, all production waste recycled, ISO 14001 and ISO 9001; awards incl. Best of NeoCon 2009, Good Design 2010, ICFF 2011
Installation: porcelain adhesive, 2 mm (0.08 in) joint with wedges, draw from several boxes; double-buttering on 120×120; colour-matched grouts recommended — Packing: 120×120 = 1.44 sqm/piece; 60×60 = 3 pcs/box (1.08 sqm)

La Mercanti Srl — trusted supplier for design and contract projects since 1997.
San Benedetto del Tronto (AP), Italy · +39 0735 753833 · info@lamercanti.com
Supply, quotations, specifications and project support across the UK and worldwide.

Documents and Catalogues

Dechirer Catalogue Dechirer LEED® Credit Contribution Sheet Dechirer Installation & Maintenance Guide Dechirer Technical Guide, Laying & Maintenance Dechirer CAD & 3D Files

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FAQ

What does «elegantly skid-resistant» actually mean in numbers?
R10 on both textures - Neutral and Decor alike - DIN 51097 class B and Pendulum Class 1, all declared in the datasheet. The point is how the grip is achieved: not by roughening a surface after the fact, but by a bas-relief designed into the body itself - Urquiola's walkable footprint. The result reads as decoration and performs as traction, from reception floors to frost-proof terraces. For barefoot wet zones, put the declared classes in front of your designer as ever.
Why does unglazed full-body porcelain matter for a working building?
Because there is nothing to wear off: the colour runs through all 12 mm - achieved, per the catalogue, with the sole distribution of quality bodies, no glaze layer - so traffic lanes, castors and years of cleaning cannot expose a different material underneath. The numbers back it: Mohs 8 hardness, 61.2 N/mm² breaking strength against the 35 the standard requires, deep-abrasion tested, 0.06% absorption certified to both ISO and ASTM. It is porcelain built like the concrete it admires.
Is the pedigree real or retrospective marketing?
Documented: Déchirer is Urquiola's first Mutina collection (2008) - the start of the partnership that later produced Azulej and Bas-Relief - and it collected six international awards between 2009 and 2011: EDIDA, Best of NeoCon, Home Beautiful Product, ADI Design Index, Good Design, ICFF Editors Award. Four registered designs (two 2009, two 2011) protect the reliefs. Specifying it today means specifying a documented piece of contemporary design history that is still in production.
How do the family members divide the work?
Decor carries the relief, Neutral provides the calm field, La Suite (Net and Trace, in Calce, Cemento and Cenere) extends the palette into pure cement tones - Net's geometry surfacing under raking light - and the recycled-glass mosaic dresses walls. Formats run from a random mosaic to the oversize 120×120 hexagon, with step, corner and skirting pieces to close every detail. One material language covers floor, wall, stair and terrace without changing supplier or maintenance regime.
What should the installer be told, and what documentation exists?
Four datasheet rules: porcelain adhesive, 2 mm joints with spacer wedges, tiles drawn from several boxes, and double-buttering on the 120×120 slabs. Grout colours are recommended per shade - nero 06 to calce 01 - so joints melt into the field. Green file: 20% pre-consumer recycled content (LEED 4.1), a glaze-free process with 100% recycled water and fully recycled production waste, ISO 14001/9001. Samples via La Mercanti, cost fully credited at order confirmation.

Grip as a design language: Déchirer in five steps

Five steps for UK architects and workplace teams: Urquiola's walkable relief from reception to terrace - safety specified as elegance.

Let the relief do the safety
Decor's bas-relief is the declared R10/B grip: use it where feet and weather demand, without switching to a clumsier safety range.
Field and gesture
Neutral and La Suite lay the calm cement field; Decor and the 120 hexagon make the gesture. One palette, five colours plus three cement tones.
Go tone-on-tone at the joints
2 mm joints in Mutina's matched grout colours turn tiles back into a monolithic cast - the concrete illusion completed.
Write the four installation rules
Porcelain adhesive, wedges, multiple boxes, double-buttering on 120×120: four tender lines that protect the finish.
Order by format logic
1.44 sqm per 120 slab, 3-piece boxes in 60×60, steps and skirting by the metre: La Mercanti converts drawings to crates and coordinates delivery.

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