Designers carve furniture from marble blocks for Robot City exhibition
Milan 2014: these marble furniture pieces, including a version of Alessandro Mendini's Proust chair, were each carved from a single block of stone for an exhibition by Italian company Robot City in Milan (+ slideshow).
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_4.jpg)
Robot City commissioned Italian architects and designers to create pieces of furniture a giant block of Carrera marble for the Solid Senses exhibition at Ventura Lambrate in Milan earlier this month.
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_3.jpg)
Architect Stefano Boeri presented a reinterpretation of the Tavolo Onda – or Wave Table – designed by his mother, architect Cini Boeri.
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_1.jpg)
The marble base of the table has been carved into a series of vertical linked curves, appearing solid when viewed front on but delicate when seen from above through the rectangular glass table top.
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_2.jpg)
"Marble and plate glass are strong, pure materials," said Stefano Boeri. "On a marble base, the transparency of a crystal glass surface is ready for the untidiness of everyday life."
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A tree-like table accompanied by a set of rabbit-shaped chairs were created by designer Stefano Giovannoni.
![Robot city exhibition_dezeen_8](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_8.jpg)
Rabbit Tree features a rounded table supported by a thick base that branches like a tree trunk beneath its surface.
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_6.jpg)
Users sit on the backs of the marble rabbits and can lean against their ears.
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_10.jpg)
Designers Paolo Ulian and Moreno Ratti worked together to create a bench that can be stacked up to form a bookshelf and a separate chair.
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_5.jpg)
The modular Comb piece has two legs carved with flutes, which reduce the weight, and a flat top. When stacked together, the repeated elements form a shelving unit with arched nooks for storing items.
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_9.jpg)
The duo's Land chair is made from two flat marble slabs cut concentrically, forming tiers that step inward towards the base.
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_7.jpg)
The exhibition also included an all-marble version of designer Alessandro Mendini's 1978 Proust chair - read more about this design in our previous story.
Each design was carved using programmed machinery from a block of marble weighing over 38 tonnes.
![Robot city exhibition in Milan](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/04/Robot-city-exhibition_dezeen_11.jpg)
"The materials were worked with a combination of high technology and robotically-controlled processes, with skilled supervision by expert marble artisans," said a statement from Robot City.