An above luxury residential kitchen conceived by the designers of Ron Dennis comes to life with Margraf and Marrone

Joint Press Release Margraf - Marrone | Milan, 23rd June 2022

luxury

After the recent announcement of the partnership with Lavendo Developments, company led by the crackerjack Ron Dennis, today Marrone and Margraf are proud to officially unveil the project they have contributed to for a prestigious Surrey mansion: Saxum Essentia, a sumptuous concept of residential kitchen, where the best professional performances and the best materials meet the objectives of the most demanding chef, the most refined designers, and surprise the most exclusive diners.

A unique project. Totally custom, it was conceived by the Lavendo Developments team and the realization was entrusted by two manufacturers of Italian excellence, both personally selected by Ron Dennis – founder and executive of Lavendo, the English company active in the construction industry, as well as aknowledged ambassador of values such as “attention to detail” and “constant search for innovation, perfection and excellence”.

Everything comes from a man’s vision. A broad vision, which embraces multiple concepts. All converging in the desire to host by creating unique and unrepeatable experiences. Saxum Essentia is one of the many pieces that compose the mosaic and for which Margraf and Marrone were chosen: Italian companies already leaders respectively in the field of marble processing and professional custom-made kitchens.

Steel and marble take centre stage in this project. Arabescato Grigio Orobico – a superior type of cloudy grey Italian marble featuring light and dark shades, as well as veins in colours ranging from brown to pale pink – is the natural material at the heart of the striking, iconic Chef Table, The marble element of the Chef Table is of a truly remarkable size (400 x 90 x 90 cm) and its shape perfectly matches the metal part, almost making the two feel like they are fused together.

Thanks to production and technological capacities that are unparalleled on a global scale, Margraf was able to use special cutting processes and extract a single, extremely large block of marble (420 x 200 x 170 cm), then shape it using cutting-edge technology.

The marble elements that make up the kitchen are wall coverings with a thickness of 2 cm / 3 cm, honed sections and some areas that have been reduced to lower thicknesses. In addition, there are Arabescato Grigio Orobico worktops with a thickness of 2 cm. They slot into metal housing that was made to measure by Marrone.

The marble covering of the back wall is also of a very substantial size (300 x 260 cm). It is made of two parts that fit together perfectly.

The distinctive “cleft” finish on the surface was produced by Margraf Innovation Lab and it is part of the new Ipogeo® Collection. It adds an exclusive touch to the iconic Chef Table and all of the wall coverings. The blocks of marble are digitally scanned, undergo 3D processing by futuristic CNC machinery and are then finished by hand by the company’s specialist artisans.

Below: Render images of Saxum Essentia.

The kitchen is made up of four cooking suites and five refrigerated displays, entirely made of AISI 304 stainless steel and embellished with marble inserts and details. All the units are equipped with the most advanced professional technologies for cooking, preparation and refrigeration, enriched by the technical fine-tuning and valuable finishes resulting from the consolidated Marrone know-how, and tailor-made starting from the comparison with the specific customer’s needs.

Among the four cooking suites, the Chef Table stands out as the the highlight of the project. On one hand, it is the heart of the show-cooking experience for exclusive guests: the fully open kitchen and the preparation of the dishes performed by the chef in front of the diners to transform the art of cooking into pure entertainment. On the other hand, the Chef Table is the core fusion of the two material souls: Marrone’s steel, twice as thick as its already remarkable standard, and Margraf’s marble, expressed in its natural state of stone, which both blend with unique power.

In the background, the five professional refrigerated displays expose a refined selection of the chef’s raw materials.

Giacomo Rossetti, designer of Lavendo Developments, explains: «All the elements are necessary to ensure that the orchestra plays perfect harmony. We worked a lot on balances. We tried to create an extremely functional environment in an “insane” scenographic setting, as the British would say, at least unusual. We have tried to make different materials dialogue in harmony and elegance. We have made the already high expression of nature equidistant with the surprising creativity of man, trying to make all those extremely technical and technological parts as less aseptic and cold as possible».

A project in which technology has played a fundamental role, supporting an extremely long and laborious study to customize each element. «All the individual parts have been designed in detail, even the smallest and if we want trivial», Rossetti continues. «Every single element has been designed in three dimensions and carefully prototyped. We have tailored from the handles to the electrical sockets. From aspiration to enlightenment».

A project that was born to make a difference in the luxury residential segment. The designer concludes: «We wanted to create an environment capable of offering a unique experience made of unforgettable scents, sounds and visions. Our only goal was to create a place where guests felt wonderfully well sitting in the front row».

Extreme digitalization, performance, aesthetics, uniqueness, to offer an experience worthy of the best restaurants in the heart of a surprising private residence. All this is Saxum Essentia.

Note for Editor:

About Ron Dennis CBE: British Businessman and Entrepreneur, Founding Shareholder and former Chairman and Chief Executive, McLaren Technology Group Ltd, former British Business Ambassador for the UK, former Global Consultant, Minsheng Investment Corporation, former Co-Chair Defence Innovation Advisory Panel MOD, Founder of Lavendo Holdings, Founder of Dreamchasing Foundation, Founder of SaluteTheNHS Campaign, Chairman of Podium Analytics, former Co-Chair and Trustee Tommy’s Campaign, Patron Tommy’s Campaign, Governor Wellington College. Awarded Hon. DTech De Montfort, 1996; Hon. DSc City, 1997; DUniv Surrey, 2000; Hon. DEng Bath, 2013. Gold Medal, British Racing Drivers’ Club, 2001; Prince Philip Medal, RAEng 2008; Golden Plate, Acad. of Achievement, 2017.

About Margraf: Margraf’s story (former Industria Marmi Vicentini) started in Chiampo (province of Vicenza) in 1906. Since its early start, the company devoted to accurate research work and development of new technologies, working in tight collaboration with famous international architects. Today, after more than a century, Margraf is a leading, world stakeholder in this field. Among many other pluses, Margraf owes its worldwide established reputation to its skilful extraction of marble and the ability to transform it into finished, polished slabs or tiny tiles and to provide a huge array of precious materials and excellent products for building construction and architecture (from the cladding of inner and external walls, to interior design items, to bathroom and kitchen decoration). On top of all this, Margraf ensures extensive environmental compliance investing any efforts to minimize any possible kind of environmental impact. This includes the use of cutting-edge technologies, the implementation of landscape recovery and energy saving practices, as well as the exploitation of renewable resources. Margraf is a perfect merging of past and present forming a first-class enterprise eagerly turned to the future.

About Marrone: See Marrone Company Profile.

The official presentation in Milan

The project Saxum Essentia was officially presented on Thursday 23 June, in the splendid setting of the Four Seasons hotel in Milan, with the dedicated event Design For Performance.