Il Sonno is a convenience store made entirely of natural stone. The project is born from the collaboration between Dutch stone supplier SolidNature and AMO — the think tank of architecture firm OMA, directed by Samir Bantal — and transforms everyday objects into material sculptures: marble takeaway cups, sandwiches made from layered stone triangles, an onyx banana and a travertine milk carton.
The supermarket inverts the logic of consumer society: disposable items are replaced by objects made from one of the oldest materials on earth. The shelves are lined with familiar versions of everyday products, reinterpreted in marble, onyx, quartzite, granite and travertine. Polycarbonate panels, rows of fluorescent lights and anonymous background music contribute to the illusion of being inside a real convenience store. Mirrored walls amplify a dreamlike sense of time — suspended, fluid, boundless. The title, Il Sonno — Italian for sleep — points precisely to that dimension.
The response from visitors prompted SolidNature to make some of the displayed objects available, alongside limited editions — twelve pieces in total. As each is made from natural stone, every piece is unique in pattern, tone and translucency.
It is not the first time SolidNature has brought stone into unexpected contexts: previous projects include a fountain for Amsterdam’s Vondelpark designed by Sabine Marcelis and an installation developed with OMA featuring a monumental onyx portal and a stone bathroom, also by Marcelis. Il Sonno was presented during Milan Design Week.
