Material evidence: the projects that shone at Casalgrande Padana’s latest Grand Prix

Taking stock and reflecting on past success is crucial to innovation. It is a practice that guides us in moving forward, helping us to identify new challenges and predict trends. Though perhaps the most meaningful part is the joyful act of celebrating – with the people that made that success happen.

Casalgrande Padana’s ‘Grand Prix’ event wraps up all of these activities into a single event. The competition was created in 1990 as a showcase for the exemplary use of the brand’s porcelain-stoneware products in architectural and interior projects. First imagined as an ‘observatory’ of design culture, it’s now developed into a critical tool for connection and exchange.

Year after year, the Grand Prix has successfully cultivated a network of expertise driven by the architects and designers who participate by submitting projects annually. ‘It is those professionals that transmit the energy and inspiration that help us to keep on growing, and who guide our efforts in terms of product and service innovation’, explains Franco Manfredini, Casalgrande Padana President.

The 13th edition, hosted in December 2025, took place at the new auditorium at Casalgrande Padana’s HQ in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Projects were presented across three categories: large urban surfaces and facades, public and commercial projects and residential projects – with every case study showing innovative technical, aesthetic and conscious use of their products.

The winning and commended projects were selected by an international jury composed of architects, critics, university lecturers and specialist journalists, and chaired by Manfredini, who encouraged rigorous discussions on each submission. The esteemed panel included Architonic’s own Editor-in-Chief, Simon Keane-Cowell, as well as representatives from Bauwelt magazine, Elle Decor and Interni.

In the category that focused on large-scale surfaces and facade claddings, the first prize went to the interiors of a Rome metro station, where compositions of dark-grey cladding panels formed an immersive and monumental effect, akin to a museum space.

Other commended projects in the same category showed how ceramic tiles can creatively build both aesthetic and functional relationships with urban surroundings: at a school in Cuneo, Italy, silver and blue three-dimensional tiles bounce light and colour across a monolithic block; while at REM underground stations in Montreal, Canada, tiles in beige and grey guide way-finding by modulating space with clarity.

In the residential buildings category, first prize went to the lakeside Villa Dellago in Verona, a contemporary form with sleek lines and expansive terraces that extend into a swimming pool. Here, the ability of Casalgrande Padana’s porcelain stoneware tiles to flow seamlessly from indoor to out, and into the pool, dramatically enhanced the vision of the architecture.

In the category of retail, office and public buildings, stand-out projects included the renovation of two leisure and wellness facilities. In London, the radical upgrade of the historic Ironmonger Row Bath spa sauna; in France, the Aldebert Bellier swimming pool, in which small tiles were mosaiced to complement the dynamic design of the pool’s retractable metal roof, a structure inspired by the 1960s Tournesol prefabricated swimming pool designed by architect Bernard Schoeller.

It was a fascinating moment to bring architects and designers together to compare and contrast material use across typologies. The conversation highlighted the ability of Casalgrande Padana’s tiles to give identity and rhythm to architecture through colour, reflection and composition, as well as to span walls and floors from indoors to outdoors and to bridge old and new within renovation projects – or blur boundaries between the built environment and landscape.

Conversations and ideas flowed at the Grand Prix event between presentations and debates, fostering a mood of open exchange. The evening came to a close with a concert by Italian soloist flautist Maestro Andrea Griminelli, who captured the intertwining magic of creativity, innovation and celebration that should never be forgotten.

© Architonic