Sculpted Stone Sinks and Basins
Are the sculpted bathroom sinks, made of marble or quartzite, truly sculpted, or are they glued?
Coríntia. Sculpted Design in Quartzite. By Guilherme Falcão, Creative Director of Coríntia and Head Designer.
There are sinks and basins that are indeed sculpted by artisans and designed by architects and designers.
An interesting fact in the field of architecture is that the sinks and basins typically mentioned and showcased in top architecture exhibitions like CASACOR or CASA CONCEITO, are actually not sculpted!
Alexandre Gedeon e Hugo Schwartz - Raízes. Projeto da CASACOR São Paulo 2022. (Denilson Machado/CASACOR) Leia mais em: https://casacor.abril.com.br/decoracao/banheiros-casacor-sao-paulo-2022/
A sculptural process is assumed to be a process of subtracting material. Sculpting a stone involves removing material.
However, in the lexicon of architecture, we often hear about 'sculpted' sinks that are actually cuts from a stone 'slab,' glued together.
In this article, we will demystify, illustrate, and explain the process of 'glued' sinks and truly sculpted sinks!
Glued Sinks, Not Sculpted Sinks!
Sink made with glued marble pieces.
Technical cuts for the construction of a glued sink (examples).
There are various types, models, and shapes of 'sculpted' sinks commonly seen in luxury bathrooms. However, almost all of them, except for rare exceptions in the Brazilian market, are glued as illustrated in the diagram.
They can be constructed using various stones such as marble, granite, or quartzite. Quartzite stands out for its beauty, color variations, and patterns, but it is its hardness that makes it the most suitable for decorating your kitchen or bathroom.
For context, marble ranks at 3 (on a scale of 0-10 on the Mohs scale, where 10 is diamond), granite at 6, and quartzite stands out with a score of 7! We will not consider porcelain ones as we are discussing models of sinks sculpted in stone.
Mohs scale versus minerals that compose rocks. https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escala_de_Mohs
So what are the true sculpted sinks or basins?
Atelier Coríntia and Sculpted Sinks in Quartzite
The process of sculpting a piece
Coríntia and the sculpted bathroom sinks
Sculpted sink. Finished piece. Gijón model. Designed by architect Guilherme Falcão - Coríntia.
Coríntia
The Coríntia team brings together architects and designers with craftsmen. Their premise is to bring art into architecture through utility objects.
sinks are literally carved from stone (like the ancient Greek or Roman columns that inspired the name).
If we look at a bathroom in an 18th-century French mansion, we will see that the basin is carved from marble or granite. It is either placed on top of a wooden countertop, or the basin itself is sculpted into the countertop.
Luxury decor has always been associated with stones.
marble sink. Séc. VII
These pieces have a high level of detail, are time-consuming to carve, and come with a high risk of potentially losing the piece in an error.
In addition to these details, no less important, Coríntia carves in Quartzite! A rock with an extremely high degree of hardness.
For these reasons, it makes their price high, with a guarantee that in the long run, this price is diluted over the lifetime.
Is it worth buying a sculpted stone sink?
Yes! In addition to all the reasons mentioned earlier, the advantages of quartzite over marble, granite, and porcelain, one must emphasize the art that will compose your bathroom. An authentic sculpture!
Coríntia's creative process is of absolute artistic nature. Drawing from references in sculpture and architecture that feed the design of the pieces.
Each piece is exclusive and has a unique identity not only due to the artisanal process but also due to the composition and patterns of the rock.
The atelier uses 'Dakar' Quartzite, a white stone with grey or brown streaks.
Pattern of Quartzito 'Dakar'
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Where is the stone extracted from?
The 'Dakar' quartzite is extracted in Bahia, Brazil, near the city of Morro do Chapéu.
The 'Dakar' quartzite is extracted in Bahia, Brazil, near the city of Morro do Chapéu.
Coríntia - A startup with sustainable principles
The sustainable footprint of Coríntia is a premise in the evolution and growth of the company.
Coríntia has the particularity of using rejects, leftover cuts from blocks, left in quarries/deposits. This is a problem that affects many mining companies in Brazil and around the world. The utilization of these environmental 'wastes' is an added value for the region's flora.
Coríntia's idea is to broaden its horizons and use the many exotic colors extracted not only in Bahia but throughout Brazil. To transform what once had no value into pieces that serve the world's highest luxury market.
As the company evolves, the goal is to even use rejects and powders that are leftovers from the manufacturing process of the pieces produced in the factory/atelier.
Rejects from the 'Dakar' Quartzite Quarry
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Example of a raw block being designed.
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