IRIS Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti – a leading Italy-based dealer and manufacturer in man-made marble, granite, and travertine, which has recently completed works on the Ali Bin Hamoodah Mosque in Abu Dhabi– says it has become the first European firm to be awarded the coveted ANAB-IBO-IBN award for its commitment to the practice of bio-ecological architecture.
ANAB-IBO-IBN are three eco-institutes working, respectively, in Italy, Austria and Germany that certify – with the collaboration of some of the most prestigious European and international research bodies – that the product is ecofriendly.
“The company had also earlier received similar certifications, as proof of its constant commitment and deep sensitivity to environmental issues. These include the ISO 14001 certification issued by Certiquality and EMAS registration in compliance with the EU directive 1836/93,” he adds.
Unique products
The six-year-old company, which claims to be one of its kind in the world to produce and sell man-made marble, granite, and travertine, has been considered a revolutionary force in the world of surfacing materials with five exclusive patents to its name.
“Right from the beginning, Iris Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti has given particular attention to nature, studying natural processes in order to reproduce in the factory materials and finishes that are rare or on the way to depletion,” says a company spokesman.
“Thanks to a patented and avant-garde technology, Iris Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti’s marbles, granites, travertines and stones not only have the typical veining that characterises quarry slabs but also have features that quarry marble do not possess,” says the spokesman.
“The company’s materials have an infinitely greater resistance to shock, abrasion, acids, the passage of time, and breaking load. Moreover, the beauty of the materials is not just ‘skin’ deep, but extends throughout the thickness of the product.
“The veining, in fact, runs through the entire section, as the back of the slab demonstrates: once polished, it has the same aesthetic features as the surface,” he adds.
“The fact that Iris Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti materials have been used on a number of international projects confirms the competitive edge of the company,” the spokesman says. “And thanks to its extraordinary capacity for technological innovation, the areas of application and designing possibilities of the product which resembles quarried material are continuously been extended.”
At the Ali Bin Hamoodah Mosque in Abu Dhabi, Iris Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti’s Japarana Classic, Azul Boquira and Persiano Giallo were used for the flooring involving highly-attractive and complex water jet decor.
Among the other many works recently completed, worthy of note are the Carré Sénart shopping centre in Paris (France), the Shangri-La Hotel in Beijing (China), the International Airport in Cape Town (South Africa), and the John Lennon Museum in Tokyo (Japan).
