Folded porcelain surface by Mutina with paper-fold relief

Folded by Mutina — plasterwork for the floor

Mutina

Raw Edges

Folded
Folded An icon of Italian design
£ 421

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Bespoke: size, colour, finish

Britain has always trusted white relief to do the decorating — the plasterwork ceiling, the moulded cornice: ornament by shadow, not by colour. Folded brings that language down to the floor: fold lines alone, pressed into full-body extra white porcelain, catch the light the way good plasterwork does — and take footsteps, frost and decades doing it. Raw Edges (Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay, London-based) called it a «tension between the delicate appearance of paper and the durability of ceramics».

The collection — the studio's 2010 debut for Mutina, before Tex, Tape and Betty — is an exercise in subtraction: one colour, extra white through the whole body (UGL); three patterns of scored folds, randomly mixed in the box, recreating the repetitive tile patterns of 1950s-60s Tel Aviv apartments — the designers' declared reference — with no colour at all. Format 60×60 rectified, slabs «each exactly the same as the others», V1 uniform variation, registered design (2011). 15% recycled declared for LEED 4.1.

Where the relief lives

The relief goes where plaster never could: floor and wall, indoor and outdoor (frost-proof) — receptions, boardrooms, washrooms, break areas. R9 declared, so wet barefoot zones go to the designer's judgement. Skirting 3.8×60. Datasheet and certificates download from this page.

Technical information based on data declared by the manufacturer.

Collection: Folded
Manufacturer: Mutina
Design: Raw Edges (Yael Mer, Shay Alkalay), 2010 — registered design no. 001912999-011 (2011)
Material: full-body extra white porcelain stoneware, 9 mm (0.35 in), UNI EN 14411 App. G (BIa) UGL — rectified single-calibre slabs
Format: 60×60 cm (23.6×23.6 in) — skirting 3.8×60 cm (1.5×23.6 in)
Range: 1 colour extra white — 3 fold-line patterns randomly mixed in the box — V1 uniform variation
Use: floor and wall — indoor and outdoor
Declared values: absorption compliant (<0.5%) — frost-proof — deep abrasion compliant — acids/alkalis class A — stain class 4 — slip R9, Pendulum 51 dry/41 wet
Sustainability: 15% pre-consumer recycled (LEED 4.1 declaration); ISO 14001 and ISO 9001; EPD, HPD on request
Installation: draw from several boxes, porcelain adhesive, 2 mm (0.08 in) joint with wedges, cement or epoxy grout; entrance mat recommended — Packing: 3 pcs/box (1.08 sqm), skirting 6 lm

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Documents and Catalogues

Mutina Catalogue Folded Catalogue Folded Technical Datasheet Folded Technical Guide, Laying & Maintenance Folded CAD & 3D Files

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FAQ

What does Folded share with British plasterwork - and where does it part ways?
The philosophy: ornament made of shadow, not pigment - a white surface whose relief does all the decorating, exactly what moulded ceilings and cornices have done in British rooms for centuries. Where it parts ways is position and constitution: this relief goes underfoot and outdoors, in full-body porcelain that shrugs off frost, footfall and deep abrasion - things plaster cannot dream of. The gentlest decorative tradition in the house, finally available where the traffic is.
Why only one white and three anonymous patterns?
Deliberate subtraction: Raw Edges' declared reference is the repetitive tile patterns of 1950s-60s Tel Aviv apartments - normally driven by colour alternation - which they set out to recreate using fold lines alone. One extra white, full-body; three scored patterns, randomly mixed in every box; variety generated by laying and light rather than palette. It is the most quietly conceptual collection in Mutina's catalogue, registered as a design in 2011 and in production ever since - a fifteen-year answer to the question of whether white relief dates. It does not.
Is an all-white floor liveable?
More than expected, for declared reasons: the white runs through the entire body (UGL extra white), so a chip shows white on white rather than a dark core; stains rate class 4 - above the norm's minimum - and chemicals class A, so coffee and cleaning cycles pass through. The datasheet adds the honest practical rule: an entrance mat, because dust and grit are the real enemy of any pale floor. Care is neutral detergent, nothing exotic. White that is engineered, not just optimistic.
Where can it honestly go?
Declared use is broad - floor and wall, indoor and outdoor, frost-proof - and the slip figures should be read plainly: R9 with Pendulum 51 dry/41 wet, no barefoot classification declared. So: interior floors and dry or covered exteriors with confidence, walls everywhere; wet barefoot zones - pool surrounds, spas - belong to the designer's judgement on the declared values. And everywhere it goes, plan a raking light: the folds are the point, and shadow is what switches them on.
What documentation supports specification?
Dated and declared: 15% pre-consumer recycled content (LEED 4.1 declaration), production certified ISO 14001 and ISO 9001, EPD and HPD on request through La Mercanti, registered design no. 001912999-011. Variation is V1 - the most uniform class - so batches match order after order, and the three patterns arrive pre-mixed in the box: just draw from several boxes on site. Sample costs are fully credited at order confirmation.

Shadow as ornament: Folded in five steps

Five steps for UK architects and clients: Raw Edges' debut collection from washroom to boardroom - white relief, engineered for traffic.

Choose where to whisper
Folded decorates by shadow: minimal receptions, light-filled washrooms, serene boardrooms - one continuous surface, floor or wall.
Design the raking light
Wall washers on vertical surfaces, side-lit glazing for floors: without grazing light Folded is white; with it, origami.
Let the random work
Three patterns arrive pre-mixed per box: draw from several boxes and lay without a scheme - irregular repetition is the design.
Read the values plainly
R9: interior floors and dry zones with confidence; wet barefoot areas to the designer. Walls have no limits.
Order by 1.08 sqm boxes
3 slabs per box, skirting by the metre: La Mercanti converts drawings to boxes with wastage and coordinates delivery.

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