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"BROOT - Dialogues from Within" of Assimagra Debuts in US at ICFF

May 13, 2025  by Karen Parrish in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry   

BROOT is a brainchild of Assimagra, the Portuguese Association for the Mineral Resources Industry. A design ensemble comprising pieces in traditional materials yet guided by contemporary visions, the project aims to show the countless possibilities of the country’s natural stones, a resource that can morph from a key element for builders into a generous vessel for design, sparking a conversation around human relation to environment and landscape and vice versa.

Ancestral, timeless, and playful, these designs pair stones to seemingly incompatible materials, such as schist and acacia, wood and granite and burel, limestone and clay.

Among the 25 pieces comprising the BROOT collection, five will be on view at the ICFF in a showcase curated and produced by the woman duo at OLIVAH. The selected works pair distant materials into harmonious and bold objects: Schist & Acacia by Studio Anansi, Granite & Burel by Studio Olivah,  Limestone & Clay by Vítor Reis Cerâmica, Marble & Cork by JMM Design Studio, and Basalt & Wicker by Estúdio Eneida Lombe Tavares.

The chosen minerals draw an ideal map of the Portuguese areas devoted to stone production. From the radiant marble of the Estremoz area in the Alentejo region to the versatile, color-changing limestone found in the central region of Serra de Aire and Serra dos Candeeiros and the shiny and friable schist of the northern region of Beiras, each designer has looked up at the materials the earth has to offer, rediscovering the landscapes they belong to and producing a corpus of work that feels ancestral, timeless, and playful.

Created to diversify this sector's export potential and project the national industry, BROOT stands out for its experimental approach. It functions as a laboratory of innovation and creativity that fosters new partnerships and collections of original and refined design pieces.

Assimagra is set to deepen its commitment to sustainable and innovative design, promoting stone as both timeless and adaptable,” explains Catarina Santos, project manager at Assimagra. “By fostering collaborations with architects, designers, and artists, the association reinforces natural stone as a material of choice for climate-conscious, culturally rich design solutions.

As Assimagra debuts in the U.S. at ICFF, our goal is to present Portuguese natural stone not just as a raw material but as a reflection of our country's design sensibility—one that blends deep-rooted craftsmanship with a contemporary vision. We aim to showcase our stone's strength, versatility, and aesthetic richness through pieces highlighting our unique ability to merge tradition with innovation.”

Promoted and coordinated by Assimagra, with Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) financing in the context of the Sustainable Stone by Portugal Green Agenda, BROOT arrives in New York after touring Milan Design Week.

Its next destination will be EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, from May 28 to June 24.

For more information: https://broot.pt/en/